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lye

Pronunciation: /laɪ/

The English word “lye” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. An alkaline liquid made by leaching ashes (usually wood ashes).
  2. Potassium or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda).
  3. A short side line, connected with the main line; a turn-out; a siding.

verb

  1. To treat with lye.

Etymology

From Middle English leye, lye, from Old English lēah, lēag (“lye”), from Proto-West Germanic *laugu, from Proto-Germanic *laugō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Loge, Looie (“lye”), Dutch loog (“lye”), German Low German Loge, Loje, Loog (“lye”), German Lauge (“lye”). Compare typologically Ancient Greek ῥύμμα (rhúmma) < ῥύπτω (rhúptō, “to cleanse, to…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.