lime
/laɪm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.86 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any gluey or adhesive substance that traps or captures; sometimes a synonym for birdlime.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A deciduous tree of the genus Tilia, especially Tilia × europaea; the linden tree.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Lime, which is the product of the burning of chalk or limestone, might be bought ready burnt, or it could be burnt in kilns specially constructed in the neighbourhood of the building operations."
- "Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest."
- "Like the lime which foolish birds are caught with."
- "Sellers moved on until he was actually trusted to operate the limes, the spotlights that can make or destroy an artist's act."
- "Then out of the blue, a spotlight much like the “limes” in a theatre, lit up what seemed like a Punch and Judy tent […] He struggled even more, when from out of the shadows and into the bright light of the limes, stepped Uncle Jolly."
- "If I were you, I'd lime."
Etymology
From Middle English lyme, lym, lime, from Old English līm, from Proto-West Germanic *līm, from Proto-Germanic *līmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Liem (“glue”), Dutch lijm (“glue”), German Leim (“glue”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish lim (“glue”), Faroese and Icelandic lím (“glue”), Latin limus (“mud”).