LICHEN


Meaning of LICHEN in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈlī-kən, Britain also ]

ˈli-chən noun

Etymology: Latin, from Greek leichēn, lichēn, from leichein to lick

Date: circa 1657

1. : any of several skin diseases characterized by a papular eruption

2. : any of numerous complex plantlike organisms made up of an alga and a fungus growing in symbiotic association on a solid surface (as a rock)

• li·chened -kənd adjective

• li·chen·ous -kə-nəs adjective

[

lichen 2

]

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.