lichen

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Any of many symbiotic organisms, being associations of algae and fungi, often found as white or yellow-to-blue–green patches on rocks, old walls, etc.
2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Something which gradually spreads across something else, causing damage.

Verb

To cover with lichen.

Synonyms

moss

ringworm

fungus

mildew

caribou moss

mushroom

🍄

slime

tartar

tetter

tinea

truffle

wartwort

tree-moss

herpes

thallophytic plant

musci

treemoss

rock-moss

algae

aetheogam

bryophyte

cork

duckweed

morel

Translations

Flechte

lichene

liquen

lichen

λειχήνα

líquen

korstmos

liquen

lichen

λειχήνες

حزاز

líquenes

Lichenes

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlaɪ.kən/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin līchēn, from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn), from λείχω (leíkhō, “to lick”). Originally used of liverwort; the modern sense first recorded 1715.