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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

litmus.

A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens, that changes color when exposed to pH levels greater than or less than certain critical levels.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈlɪtməs/
  1. A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens, that changes color when exposed to pH levels greater than or less than certain critical levels.

    uncountable
  2. A simple test of acidity in a liquid using litmus, usually in the form of litmus paper.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A simple test of any attribute; a litmus test.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English litmose, lytmose, litemose, from Old Norse litmosi (“moss used for dyeing”), from lita (“to dye, stain”) + mosi (“moss”), the former from litr (“colour, dye, blee”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz (“appearance, blee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Old English wlite (“appearance, form, brightness, countenance”). More at moss.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.