lime, n.1
Forms:
OE lím, OE, ME liim, ME, 16 lim, ME–16 lym, ME–17 lyme, (ME liym), ME– lime.(Show Less)
Etymology: Old English lím strong masculine = Middle Dutch lîm (masculine) (modern Dutch lijm feminine), Old High German lîm (Middle High German lîm , modern German leim ) masculine, Old Norse lím neuter < Old Germanic *lîmo- = Latin līmus mud, < West Aryan root *lῑ- in Latin li-nĕre to smear; another grade of the root occurs in loam n., lair n.2
1.
a. A viscous sticky substance prepared from the bark of the holly and used for catching small birds; = bird-lime n. Now only poet. (In Old English any adhesive substance, e.g. glue, paste.)
a700 Epinal Gloss. 133
Bitumen, lim.
a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab.
(1884)
I. 95
Ic beswice fugelas hwilon mid neton mid grinum mid lime.
c1000 Ælfric Gram.
(Z.)
258
Swaswa lim gefæstnað fel to sumum brede.
a1250 O. & N.
(Jesus Oxf.)
1056
Þe louerd..Lym [Cott. liim] and grune.. Sette and leyde þe for to lacche.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 29082
Mani man..perist was als fuxl in lime.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 305/1
Lyme, to take wythe byrdys, viscus.
1565–6 Churchwardens' Accts. in T. North Chron. S. Martin in Leicester
(1866)
166
For Lyme to catche ye sterlyngs in ye churche, vijd.
a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxi. 34
I fand My fethers in the lyme.
1697 Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 55
Toils for Beasts, and Lime for Birds were found.
1697 Philos. Trans. 1695–7
(Royal Soc.)
19 377
The Bark [of Holly] begins to be full of Lime.
a1850 Wordsworth in Webster's Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
(1890)
Like the lime That foolish birds are caught with.
a700—a1850(Hide quotations)
b. in allusive phrases (cf. lime v.1 2, 3).
13.. K. Alis. 419
Heo bylevith in folie So in the lym doth the flye.
1477 T. Norton Ordinall of Alchimy v, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum
(1652)
83
For Fier with Erth hath most concord of all; Because that siccitie is the lyme of heate.
1592 T. Lodge Euphues Shadow
(1882)
20
Philamour that was first caught in the lime, was most of all tormented in his loue.
1604 W. Alexander Paraenesis to Prince sig. Bv
While fancies are not glu'de with pleasures lime.
a1616 Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona
(1623)
iii. ii. 68
You must lay Lime, to tangle her desires By walefull Sonnets.
a1616 Shakespeare Tempest
(1623)
iv. i. 244
Monster, come put some Lime vpon your fingers, and away with the rest.
13..—a1616(Hide quotations)
2. Usually coupled with stone: Mortar or cement used in building. In quot. c1230 fig. Now Sc.
c725 Corpus Gloss. C 320
Cementum: liim, lapidum.
a1100 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab.
(1884)
I. 314/23
Cementum, lim to wealle.
?c1200 Ormulum
(Burchfield transcript)
l. 16285
Þatt draȝhenn swerd wass inn an hannd. & lim & stan inn oþerr.
c1230
(▸?a1200)
Ancrene Riwle
(Corpus Cambr.)
(1962)
117
Se feste ilimet wið lim of anred luue euch of ow to oþer.
c1275
(▸?a1200)
Laȝamon Brut
(Calig.)
(1963)
l. 7894
Ich habbe lim [c1300 Otho lym] & stan on leode nis betere nan.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 25468
Castel mad o lime and stane.
a1325
(▸c1250)
Gen. & Exod.
(1968)
l. 2552
Ðo sette sundri hem to waken His tigel and lim and walles maken.
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 209
Þe churche is taken..for þe hous of liym and stoon, þat conteyneþ sich men.
a1400–50 Alexander 5088
Þar was a cite in þat side asisid all with gemmes, With-outen lyme or laire.
1488
(▸c1478)
Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace
(Adv.)
(1968–9)
xii. l. 680
Mudwall werk withoutyn lym or stayn.
1597 Shakespeare Richard II iii. iii. 25
King Richard lies Within the limites of yon lime and stone.
1745 J. Ware Wks. conc. Irel. I. 127
Those slender round Towers of Lime and Stone, which are seen spread through divers Parts of the Country.
1787 R. Burns Poems
(new ed.)
73
Your ruin'd, formless bulk o' stane and lime.
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd i. 25
Throu' the thick stane and the lime, He slippit like a beam throu' glass.
1903 N.E.D. at Lime
Mod. Sc. A stane-an'-lime wa' is better nor a dry-stane dyke.
c725—1903(Hide quotations)
3.
a. The alkaline earth which is the chief constituent of mortar; calcium oxide (CaO). It is obtained by submitting limestone (carbonate of lime) to a red heat, by which the carbonic acid is driven off, leaving a brittle white solid, which is pure lime (or quicklime n.). It is powerfully caustic and combines readily with water, evolving great heat in the process, and forming hydrate of lime ( slaked lime).The designations carbonate of lime, phosphate of lime, etc., are still current in popular use, though in technical language they have given place to the more systematic terms calcium carbonate (or carbonate of calcium), etc. chloride of lime: see chloride n. 2.
a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab.
(1884)
I. 197/16
Calcis uiua, gebærnd lim.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum
(1495)
xvi. xxiii. 560
Whyle lyme is colde in handlyng it conteyneth preuely wythin fyre and grete hete.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 122
Caste aboue þe wounde þe poudre of lym tofore seid.
c1450 Middle Eng. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 217
Tak arpment, & slekyd lyme, & argoyle.
1535 Bible
(Coverdale)
Isa. xxxiii. B
The people shalbe burnt like lyme.
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xliii. 103
Since the Spanish Sacks haue beene common in our Tauernes, which (for conservation) is mingled with Lyme in its making, our Nation complaineth of Calenturas, of the Stone [etc.].
1622 Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 137
They were now (like Sand without Lyme), ill bound together.
1787 G. Winter New Syst. Husbandry 32
Lime, when properly and judiciously applied, ranks first amongst the class of manures.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 488
Lime is detected most effectually by the oxalic acid, which..forms with it an insoluble precipitate.
1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades
(1842)
130
Lime is found in chalk, marble, &c., and is the basis of animal bones.
1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 489/1
Phosphate of lime has been recommended in rickets.
a1000—1839(Hide quotations)
†b. = lime-wash n. and vb. at Compounds 2. Obs.
?1593 Rites of Durham (Lawson MS. 1656) xxxix
Which pictures have been washed over wth Lime, and yet do appear through the Lime.
?1593—?1593(Hide quotations)
c. lime and hair: a kind of plasterer's cement to which hair is added to bind the mixture closely together. Also attrib.
1626 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington
(1888)
181
For lyme and haire for lymeinge the wyndowes, viijd.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 46
Lime and Haire Birdcage-like-Buildings.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 640
Cements..used by plasterers for inside work. The first is called lime and hair, or coarse stuff.
1626—1825(Hide quotations)
†d. oil of lime [French huile de chaux] : an old name for the so-called ‘chloride of lime’ in a state of deliquescence.
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy Adm. vii. in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum
(1652)
191
Oyle of Lime [printed Lune] and water.
1742 Philos. Trans.
(Royal Soc.)
42 76.
1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. I. 275.
1471—1800(Hide quotations)
e. A vat containing a solution of lime for removing the hair from skins; the solution itself.
1885 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather xxxii. 525
When sufficiently softened the skins are next placed in the ‘limes’... The goat-skins remain in the ‘limes’ about 14 days.
1903 L. A. Flemming Pract. Tanning 6
When vat room is scarce, it is good practice to haul the skins out after they have been in the lime a few days.
1946 J. W. Waterer Leather ii. ii. 137
The practice of passing the ‘packs’ of hides..through a series of liquors, commencing with an old or ‘mellow’ lime.
1969 T. C. Thorstensen Pract. Leather Technol. vi. 87
When the hide is introduced into the lime.
1885—1969(Hide quotations)
†4.
a. The calx n. of metals. Obs.
1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 225
Metals, after they are reduc'd into Lime.
1707—1707(Hide quotations)
b. Used generically for: an alkaline earth. Obs.
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral.
(ed. 2)
I. 5
When this [aerial, i.e. carbonic] acid is expelled, the earth..is then called lime, or common or calcareous lime, to distinguish it from other earths, which also form limes, when free from all combinations, viz. the Barytic and Scottish earths.
1794—1794(Hide quotations)
Compounds
C1. General attrib. Also lime-burner n., lime-fingered adj., lime-kiln n., limelight n., lime-pit n., lime-pot n., lime-rod n., limestone n., lime-twig n., lime-water n., lime-wort n.1, etc.
a.
lime-basket n.
1838 Dickens Oliver Twist I. xviii. 306
Mr. Chitling..‘wished he might be busted if he wasn't as dry as a lime-basket’.
1838—1838(Hide quotations)
lime-burn n.
1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. 9 538
The 2 lime-burns occurred in plasterers.
1879—1879(Hide quotations)
lime-burning v.
1860 J. S. C. Abbott South & North 196
[Slaves] employed..in lime-burning or fishing.
1860—1860(Hide quotations)
lime-cask n.
1865 H. B. Stowe House & Home Papers 94
Seating himself on a lime-cask which the plasterers had left.
1865—1865(Hide quotations)
† lime-coop n. Obs.
1691 J. Ray N. Country Words in Coll. Eng. Words
(ed. 2)
17
A Lime-coop, a Cart or Wain made close with Boards, to carry any thing that otherwise would fall out.
1691—1691(Hide quotations)
lime-crag n.
1649 Burgh. Rec. Glasgow
(1881)
II. 177
Anent the coall and lymecraig it is ordourit [etc.].
1649—1649(Hide quotations)
† lime-fat n. Obs.
1494 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 19
Cussions, stuffed with horse here [etc.], which is wrought in lyme fattes.
1494—1494(Hide quotations)
lime-grout n.
1875 R. R. Brash Eccl. Archit. Ireland 8
The interior of the walls is filled with small stones and lime-grout.
1875—1875(Hide quotations)
lime-hater n.
1907 R. J. Farrer My Rock-garden x. 148
The plant [sc. Cenisia excisa]..is a real lime-hater.
1935 A. G. L. Hellyer Pract. Gardening xv. 112
The best plan is to set aside a portion of the rock-garden for lime-haters.
1907—1935(Hide quotations)
lime-hating adj.
1935 A. G. L. Hellyer Pract. Gardening 284/1
(index)
Lime hating plants.
1971 Country Life 18 Feb. 368/1
For some reason, many of the lime-hating shrubs have only white flowers.
1935—1971(Hide quotations)
lime-keeve n.
1574 in Worth Tavistock Par. Acc.
(1887)
30
For mending of the lyme Keve, vjd.
1574—1574(Hide quotations)
lime-lover n.
1907 R. J. Farrer My Rock-garden i. 12
At this point I will not embark on the awful question of lime-lovers and peat-lovers.
1971 Mrs. D. Underwood Grey & Silver Plants iv. 35
The root fibres of the lime-lovers will wrap themselves round individual [limestone] chippings.
1907—1971(Hide quotations)
lime-loving adj.
1916 Nature 2 Nov. 172/2
It seems probable from the evidence now before us that some of Forrest's newly discovered Chinese rhododendrons..must be reckoned as lime-loving species.
1956 D. McClintock & R. S. R. Fitter Collins' Pocket Guide Wild Flowers 306
Limestone Polypody..is the lime-loving counterpart of the Oak Fern.
1974 Country Life 28 Nov. 1660/1
Used mushroom compost..is greatly appreciated by lime-loving cherries.
1916—1974(Hide quotations)
lime-maker n.
1573 J. Baret Aluearie L 441
A limemaker, calcarius.
1723 London Gaz. No. 6128/3
Edward Brent, Lime-maker.
1573—1723(Hide quotations)
lime-man n.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 208
Many Lime-men, (and some of those Bricklayers that are in Fee with 'em) may speak against this Practice.
1703—1703(Hide quotations)
lime-mortar n.
1764 Coll. New-Hampsh. Hist. Soc. IX. 168
Capt. Walker's son came and made my lime mortar.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 275
Smeared over with common lime mortar.
1764—1839(Hide quotations)
lime-ooze n.
1867 J. N. Edwards Shelby xxix. 498
He..disappeared for a moment beneath lime ooze, half tanned hides and the smell of a charnel house.
1867—1867(Hide quotations)
lime-process n.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining
Lime process, the method of getting coal by the use of the lime cartridge.
1888 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon
Lime process of sewage purification.
1883—1888(Hide quotations)
† lime quarrel n. Obs.
1641 Sc. Acts Chas. I
(1870)
V. 452/1
To haue and win Lymestones in the lyme quarrells, pairtis and boundis of the Toune and Landis of Paistoun [etc.].
1641—1641(Hide quotations)
lime quarry n.
a1649 W. Drummond Wks.
(1711)
187
That Coal-Pits, Lime-Quarries, within Fourty Foots of the King's High-ways, be filled up.
1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 34
The lime quarries of Alberese.
a1649—1882(Hide quotations)
lime-salt n.
1849 D. Campbell Pract. Text-bk. Inorg. Chem. 71
A salt of this acid gives, in lime salts, a semi-solid precipitate.
1849—1849(Hide quotations)
lime-scow n.
1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers II. iv. 54
Did'ee ever see a ship, man? or any craft bigger than a lime-scow, or a wood-boat, on this here small bit of fresh water?
1823—1823(Hide quotations)
lime-scuttle n.
1865 F. Martin Life J. Clare 62
He sat down upon his lime~scuttle.
1865—1865(Hide quotations)
lime-sifter n.
1771 in Maryland Hist. Mag. 14 129
Give my service to Mr. Deards and desire Him to send 1 Coarse lime sifter.
1771—1771(Hide quotations)
† lime tub n. Obs.
1541 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen
(1844)
I. 176
Ane skep, ane schod schuill, with ane lym tub.
1541—1541(Hide quotations)
lime-wagon n.
1864 B. Taylor Hannah Thurston vi. 79
No one ever knew a lime-wagon or a woodsled to give an inch of road to a lighter vehicle.
1864—1864(Hide quotations)
b.
lime-daubed adj.
1861 W. F. Collier Hist. Eng. Lit. 105
As sorry makeshifts for scenery as the lime-daubed tinker who acted Wall.
1861—1861(Hide quotations)
lime-dressed adj.
1899 J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris I. 279
The English lime~dressed vellum had been found almost useless for fine work.
1899—1899(Hide quotations)
lime-free adj.
1935 A. G. L. Hellyer Pract. Gardening iii. 34
It is wise to make enquiry when ordering rock plants and shrubs as to whether any of those supplied are likely to require lime-free soil.
1974 Country Life 28 Nov. 1639/1
V[iburnum] furcatum.. needs a lime-free soil.
1935—1974(Hide quotations)
lime-like adj.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 141
A salt taste, with something lime-like or lixivial.
1756—1756(Hide quotations)
C2.
lime-ash n. dial. a composition of ashes and lime used as a rough kind of flooring for kitchens, etc.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon iii. 96
The lime ash-floor..costs 6d. in the square yard, tempering and laying down.
1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 195
Their clothes dripping pools of water on the sanded lime-ash.
1808—1893(Hide quotations)
lime-ball n. (also lime-ball light) limelight.
1830 Drummond in Philos. Trans.
(Royal Soc.)
120 391
The intensity of the lime~ball being therefore 264 times that of the Argand lamp.
1835 Edinb. Rev. 61 238
The lime-ball light of Lieutenant Drummond.
1830—1835(Hide quotations)
† lime-bush n. Obs. a bush dressed with birdlime; hence, a means of entanglement.
1575 G. Fenton Golden Epist. f. 51v
No other thinges are the riches of the world, but..a stumbling blocke for the wicked, a limebushe for the good.
a1634 J. Day Peregrinatio Scholastica
(Sloane 3150)
f. 13
Like a fishe in a net, or a selie Bird in a Limebushe.
1575—a1634(Hide quotations)
lime-cartridge n. (see quot.).
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining
Lime cartridge, a charge or measured quantity of compressed dry caustic lime made up into a cartridge, and used instead of gunpowder and in a somewhat similar manner for breaking down coal.
1883—1883(Hide quotations)
lime-cast n. a covering or layer of lime mortar; also attrib.
1861 J. M. Neale Notes on Dalmatia 96
Here, much hidden by lime-cast, I made out the inscription.
1873 E. O'Curry Manners Anc. Irish III. 16
Many lofty lime-cast castles, built of limestone.
1861—1873(Hide quotations)
† lime-chalk n. Obs. quicklime.
1637 T. Heywood Anna & Phillis in Dial. in Wks.
(1874)
VI. 320
Water doth make the lime-chalk scortch with heat.
1637—1637(Hide quotations)
lime-coal n. (see quot.).
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining
Lime coal, small coal suitable for lime burning.
1883—1883(Hide quotations)
† lime-core n. Obs. unslakable lumps in quick-lime.
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 132
Good dry Earth, Lime-Core, Rubbish, &c.
1679—1679(Hide quotations)
lime-cylinder n. a cylinder of lime used in the production of limelight.
1871 tr. H. Schellen Spectrum Anal. ix. 64
Let the lime-cylinders then be raised to incandescence by means of the oxyhydrogen gas.
1871—1871(Hide quotations)
lime-liniment n. (see quot.).
1876 J. Harley Royle's Man. Materia Med.
(ed. 6)
173
Lime Liniment is an emulsion of calcareous soap and free oil.
1876—1876(Hide quotations)
lime-liquid n. liquid grout of lime.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 78
Filling..the inside with small Stones, and Lime-liquid.
1776—1776(Hide quotations)
lime-marl n. (see quot.).
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 772
This true limestone must not be confounded with the lime-marl, composed of calcareous matter and clay.
1839—1839(Hide quotations)
lime-milk n. milk of lime, slaked lime diffused in water.
1703 T. S. Art's Improv. i. 10
Whiten it Three or Four times together with Lime-Milk.
1703—1703(Hide quotations)
lime ointment n. an ointment consisting of slaked lime, lard, and olive oil ( New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon 1888).
lime-phial n. Hist. a phial filled with quicklime, fixed at the end of an arrow, used in mediæval warfare for the purpose of blinding the enemy (Hewitt Anc. Armour III. 759, Index; cf. Strutt Horda Angelcynnan I. 98).
lime-putty n. (a) (see quot.); (b) = lime-slab n.
1892 Labour Comm. Gloss.
Lime-putty, ordinary lime run through a fine sieve.
1892—1892(Hide quotations)
lime-rock n. limestone (? now N. Amer.).
1665 in Early Rec. Town of Providence
(Rhode Island)
(1893)
III. 66
Those Lime Rocks about Hackletons lime Killne shal be perpetually Common.
1673 Early Rec. Town of Providence
(Rhode Island)
III. 229
To fetch for their use as much lime Rock from the rock..as they please.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 547
A dry sharp soil to work upon mostly covering lime rock.
1969 Islander
(Victoria, Brit. Columbia)
22 June 7/1
He had to tow empty scows from the cement works to Tod Inlet and back with full scows of limerock for making cement.
1665—1969(Hide quotations)
lime-rubbish n. broken mortar from old walls, etc., used as a dressing for land.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 270
Lime rubbish from the pulling down of old houses.
1884 Culture of Veg. & Flowers
(Sutton & Sons)
(1885)
88
Old gardens should be refreshed with a dressing of lime occasionally, or of lime rubbish from old buildings.
1805—1884(Hide quotations)
lime-shells n. burnt lime before it is slaked.
1793 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. VI. 202
To strong land they give from 40 to 70 bolls of lime shells to the Scotch acre.
1793—1793(Hide quotations)
lime-silicate adj. Geol. applied to a rock which was originally an impure limestone or dolomite and has been thermally metamorphosed, with the result that the lime has combined with silica present as impurities to form calcium silicates.
1888 J. J. H. Teall Brit. Petrogr. 464/2
Lime-silicate hornfels.
1902 A. Harker Petrol.
(ed. 3)
xx. 306
The carbonic acid is completely eliminated, and the whole converted into a lime-silicate-rock (the German ‘Kalksilikathornfels’ or ‘Kalkhornfels’).
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. x. 153/1
Lime-silicate dyke rocks in the ultramafic rocks of southern Westland.
1888—1965(Hide quotations)
lime-sink n. a rounded depression in the earth found in limestone districts.
1837 J. L. Williams Territory of Florida 9
Ponds and lime sinks are numerous between the..rivers.
1845 C. Lyell Trav. N. Amer. I. 176
Lime-sinks or funnel-shaped cavities, are frequent in this country arising from natural tunnels and cavities in the subjacent limestone.
1837—1845(Hide quotations)
lime-slab n. a pasty smooth composition of slaked lime and water used in plastering.
1608–9 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum
(1896)
305
Barrowefull lyme slabb 6d.
1608–9—1608–9(Hide quotations)
lime soap n. a mixture of insoluble calcium salts of fatty acids formed as a precipitate when soap is used in hard water and manufactured for various industrial purposes.
1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. III. vi. 373
The tallow is melted by injecting hot steam into the vat which contains it, and milk of lime is added... An insoluble lime soap is thus formed.
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning
(ed. 2)
28
The lime..unites with the oil and tallow, forming what is called an insoluble lime soap.
1918 C. M. Whittaker Applic. Coal Tar Dyestuffs iii. 36
Lime soaps may be removed by treatment with spirits of salts.
1952 R. E. Kirk & D. F. Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. VIII. 524
The use of lime-soap thickened lubricants for the wheels of chariots dates back as far as 1400 b.c... In modern times, however, the manufacture of lubricating greases—also by means of lime soaps—started about 1854.
1961 Cohen & Linton Chem. & Textiles for Laundry Industry iii. 46
Pure lime soap is more or less white when it is formed... If we accept a laundryman's concept of lime soap, on the other hand, we are talking about a dingy, gray, boardy impregnation that builds up in fabrics and defies all efforts to attain good whiteness.
1857—1961(Hide quotations)
lime-soda n. attrib. applied to a process for softening water by treatment with lime and sodium carbonate.
1930 Engineering 15 Aug. 219/1
It [sc. the base exchange method] gives rise to no precipitate whatever, and this avoids what in the lime-soda process is often a cause of difficulty.
1950 B. E. Hartsuch Introd. Textile Chem. iv. 92
The lime-soda method for softening water is the oldest and is still most used for very large softening plants.
1970 Kirk-Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol.
(ed. 2)
XXII. 98
The lime or lime-soda process is based upon precipitation of calcium as calcium carbonate and magnesium as magnesium hydroxide.
1930—1970(Hide quotations)
lime-sour n. = grey sour n. at grey adj. and n. Special uses 3a ( Cent. Dict.).
lime-sulphur n. an insecticide and fungicide containing calcium polysulphides which is made by boiling lime and sulphur in water.
1907 Bull. Bureau Chem., U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 101. 12
The next set of experiments was to determine the composition of lime-sulphur mixtures boiled the same length of time.., but containing varying quantities of lime and sulphur.
1913 Jrnl. Royal Hort. Soc. 39 378
It appears unsafe to spray many varieties of gooseberries with either lime-sulphur or liver of sulphur.
1937 A. M. Massee Pests of Fruits & Hops xiv. 266
In the post-blossom sprays..lime-sulphur is used as an acaricide as well as a fungicide, and it is then used at a strength of 1 per cent..for the control of the Fruit Tree Red Spider and Apple Scab.
1968 R. Hay Gardening Year 472/3
Lime sulphur can also be used against big bud mites on black currants, American gooseberry mildew and peach leaf curl.
1907—1968(Hide quotations)
lime-wash n. and v. (a) n. a mixture of lime and water, used for coating walls, etc.; (b) v. to whitewash with such a mixture.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 168
Old Fruit Trees..may be restored..by the application of a good strong lime-wash.
1847 A. C. Smeaton Builder's Pocket Man.
(new ed.)
126
In using lime-wash, it is better to put two thin coats on a wall than one thick one.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene
(ed. 3)
305
The walls and ceilings are ordered to be lime~washed twice a-year.
1823—1869(Hide quotations)
lime-white v. (also lime-whiten) to lime-wash.
1777 J. Howard State of Prisons
(1780)
359
It was scraped and lime-whited once a year.
1861 Englishwoman's Domest. Mag. 3 221
The walls were lime-whitened.
1777—1861(Hide quotations)
lime-work n. †(a) stucco (quot. 1589); (b) a place where lime is made (also pl.).
1589 J. Rider Bibliotheca Scholastica 870
Lime-worke, albarium opus, albarium.
1692 London Gaz. No. 2819/1
Since the destroying of the Lime-Works by our Dragoons.
1808 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Inverness i. 41
A lime-work belonging to Sir James Grant of Grant.
1971 Country Life 1 Apr. 743/3
We struck east across the A515..to re-cross the road farther north by a limeworks.
1589—1971(Hide quotations)
† lime-yard n. Obs. = lime-twig n.
1377 Langland Piers Plowman B. ix. 179
Leccherye in likyng is lymeȝerde of helle.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 305/1
Lyme ȝerde, viminarium, viscarium.
1377—c1440(Hide quotations)
C3. In names of minerals, denoting the presence of lime or calcium, e.g. lime-marl, -slate.
lime-epidote n. zoisite.
lime-feldspar n. triclinic feldspar containing calcium.
1863 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. 56
Labradorite, or lime-feldspar.
1896 A. H. Chester Dict. Names Minerals 157
Lime-feldspar, a syn. of anorthite.
1863—1896(Hide quotations)
† lime-harmotome n. Obs. phillipsite.
lime-malachite n. an impure malachite containing calcite.
† lime-mesotype n. Obs. scolecite.
† lime-uranite n. Obs. autunite.
lime-wavellite n. ‘a variety of wavellite, supposed to contain lime as an essential ingredient’ (A. H. Chester Dict. Names Minerals 1896).
1811 J. Pinkerton Petralogy II. 192
Saussure has minutely described a singular transition from granite to limeslate.
1811—1811(Hide quotations)
Draft additions June 2015
limescale n. (as a mass noun) a hard whitish deposit that tends to accumulate on surfaces in contact with water, esp. heated water (as in kettles and pipes); (as a count noun) an individual piece or flake of this; = scale n.2 5c; cf. fur n.1 6c.It consists chiefly of calcium carbonate, which is present in hard water.
1841 Iron 21 Aug. 169/1
Its separated ends were covered with old lime scale.
1854 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 58 357
On some parts of the bottom..of the boilers, I found heavy lime scales, which I judge to be between one-eighth and three-sixteenths of an inch thick.
1943 Sewage Wks. Jrnl. 15 1203
Trouble from lime scale and cloth blinding was reduced by 50 per cent.
2008 M. Monroe She had it Coming lii. 259
Thanks to him, I probably knew more about grout, lime scales, and rust stains than Mr. Clean.
2010 Ideal Home May 152/2
Blitz the loo with disinfectant, leaving to work its magic while you tackle limescale on the shower head.
1841—2010(Hide quotations)