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Lime   /laɪm/   Listen
noun
Lime  n.  A thong by which a dog is led; a leash.



Lime  n.  (Bot.) The linden tree. See Linden.



Lime  n.  
1.
(Bot.) The fruit of the Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon, but greener in color; also, the tree which bears it. Note: The term lime was formerly also applied to variants of the closely related citron, of which there are two varieties, Citrus Medica, var. acida which is intensely sour, and the sweet lime (Citrus Medica, var. Limetta) which is only slightly sour. See citron.
2.
The color of the lime (1), a yellowish-green.



Lime  n.  
1.
Birdlime. "Like the lime That foolish birds are caught with."
2.
(Chem.) Oxide of calcium, CaO; the white or gray, caustic substance, usually called quicklime, obtained by calcining limestone or shells, the heat driving off carbon dioxide and leaving lime. It develops great heat when treated with water, forming slaked lime, and is an essential ingredient of cement, plastering, mortar, etc. Note: Lime is the principal constituent of limestone, marble, chalk, bones, shells, etc.
Caustic lime, Calcium hydroxide or slaked lime; also, in a less technical sense, calcium oxide or quicklime.
Lime burner, one who burns limestone, shells, etc., to make lime.
Lime pit, a limestone quarry.
Lime rod, Lime twig, a twig smeared with birdlime; hence, that which catches; a snare.



verb
Lime  v. t.  (past & past part. limed; pres. part. liming)  
1.
To smear with a viscous substance, as birdlime. "These twigs, in time, will come to be limed."
2.
To entangle; to insnare. "We had limed ourselves With open eyes, and we must take the chance."
3.
To treat with lime, or oxide or hydrate of calcium; to manure with lime; as, to lime hides for removing the hair; to lime sails in order to whiten them; to lime the lawn to decrease acidity of the soil. "Land may be improved by draining, marling, and liming."
4.
To cement. "Who gave his blood to lime the stones together."



adjective
lime  adj.  Having a yellowish-green color like that of the lime (the fruit).






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Lime" Quotes from Famous Books



... invisible, and knew the desert well. So, while the year turned, and the heat came, held sway, and went, the ragged troopers on the frontier were led an endless chase by the hostiles, who took them back and forth over flats of lime and ridges of slate, occasionally picking off a packer or a couple of privates, until now the sun was setting at 4.28 and it froze at any time of day. Therefore the rest of the packers and privates were glad to march into Boise Barracks ...
— Red Men and White • Owen Wister

... North British (Ross-shire) Militia, afterwards Major in the East of Ross Militia, and for thirty-seven years a Deputy Lieutenant for the county. He reclaimed and laid out the greater part of the valley of the Peffery, where, on the estate of Fodderty, be was the first to apply lime to the land and to grow wheat north of the Moray Firth. He was also the first to introduce Clydesdale horses and shorthorn cattle to the Highlands, and was, as has been already said, along with Sir George Mackenzie of Coul and his ...
— History Of The Mackenzies • Alexander Mackenzie

... oracle, "the fact is that all these accursed sand-hills are as like each other as mummy beads on the same necklace, and therefore it is very difficult to know them apart. Give me that water-bottle, Adams; I am as dry as a lime-kiln." ...
— Queen Sheba's Ring • H. Rider Haggard

... as a blawort?—weel I wot he is a humbling spectacle. Or can it gie ony body health or pleasure either to see your ainsell, Doctor, ganging about wi' a claise screen tied to your back, covered wi' paper, and painted like a stane and lime wa'?—I'll gang to see nane o' their vanities, Dr. Kittlehen; and if there is nae other decent body to take care o' me, as I dinna like to sit a haill afternoon by mysell, I'll e'en gae doun to Mr. Sowerbrowst the maltster's—he is a pleasant, sensible man, and a sponsible man in the world, ...
— St. Ronan's Well • Sir Walter Scott

... successfully purifying and softening the foul waters of the river Medlock. It is stated that 84,000 gallons per day can be easily purified by an apparatus 7 feet in diameter. The chemicals used are chiefly lime, soda, and alumina, and the cost of treatment is stated to vary from a farthing to twopence per 1,000 gallons, according to the degree of impurity of the water ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 787, January 31, 1891 • Various


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