lichen


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li·chen

 (lī′kən)
n.
1. A composite organism made up of a fungus, usually an ascomycete, that grows symbiotically with an alga or a cyanobacterium and characteristically forms a crustlike or branching growth on rocks or tree trunks.
2. Medicine Any of various skin diseases characterized by patchy eruptions of small, firm papules.
tr.v. li·chened, li·chen·ing, li·chens
To cover with lichens.

[Latin līchēn, a kind of plant, from Greek leikhēn, from leikhein, to lick; see leigh- in Indo-European roots.]

li′chen·ous adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lichen

(ˈlaɪkən; ˈlɪtʃən)
n
1. (Plants) an organism that is formed by the symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium and occurs as crusty patches or bushy growths on tree trunks, bare ground, etc. Lichens are now classified as a phylum of fungi (Mycophycophyta)
2. (Pathology) pathol any of various eruptive disorders of the skin
[C17: via Latin from Greek leikhēn, from leikhein to lick]
ˈlichened adj
ˈlichen-ˌlike adj
ˈlichenˌoid adj
ˈlichenous, ˈlichenˌose adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

li•chen

(ˈlaɪ kən)
n.
1. any complex organism of the group Lichenes, composed of a fungus in symbiotic union with an alga, most commonly forming crusty patches on rocks and trees.
2. any of various eruptive skin diseases.
v.t.
3. to cover with or as if with lichens.
[1595–1605; < Latin līchēn < Greek leichḗn]
li′chen•ous, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

li·chen

(lī′kən)
An organism that consists of a fungus and an alga living together in a symbiotic relationship. The alga supplies nutrients by photosynthesis, while the fungus shades the alga from excessive sunlight and supplies water by absorbing water vapor from the air. Lichens often live on rocks and tree bark and can thrive in extreme environments, such as mountaintops and the polar regions.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.lichen - any of several eruptive skin diseases characterized by hard thick lesions grouped together and resembling lichens growing on rockslichen - any of several eruptive skin diseases characterized by hard thick lesions grouped together and resembling lichens growing on rocks
disease of the skin, skin disease, skin disorder - a disease affecting the skin
lichen planus, lichen ruber planus - an eruption of shiny flat-topped purplish (usually itchy) papules on the wrist and forearms and thighs
2.lichen - any thallophytic plant of the division Lichenes; occur as crusty patches or bushy growths on tree trunks or rocks or bare ground etc.
division Lichenes, Lichenes - comprising the lichens which grow symbiotically with algae; sometimes treated as an independent group more or less coordinate with algae and fungi
ascolichen - a lichen in which the fungus component is an ascomycete
basidiolichen - a lichen in which the fungus component is a basidiomycete
lecanora - any lichen of the genus Lecanora; some used in dyeing; some used for food
roccella, Roccella tinctoria - a source of the dye archil and of litmus
beard lichen, beard moss, Usnea barbata - greenish grey pendulous lichen growing on trees
horsehair lichen, horsetail lichen - any of several lichens of the genus Alectoria having a thallus consisting of filaments resembling hair
arctic moss, Cladonia rangiferina, reindeer lichen, reindeer moss - an erect greyish branching lichen of Arctic and even some north temperate regions constituting the chief food for reindeer and caribou and sometimes being eaten by humans
crotal, crottal, crottle - any of several lichens of the genus Parmelia from which reddish brown or purple dyes are made
Cetraria islandica, Iceland lichen, Iceland moss - lichen with branched flattened partly erect thallus that grows in mountainous and Arctic regions; used as a medicine or food for humans and livestock; a source of glycerol
fungus - an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
حَزاز صَخْر
lišejník
lav
jäkälä
lišaj
zuzmó
flétta, skóf
kerpė
ķērpis
lišajník
lišajлишај
lav
liken

lichen

[ˈlaɪkən] Nliquen m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lichen

[ˈlaɪkən ˈlɪtʃən] nlichen m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

lichen

nFlechte f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lichen

[ˈlaɪkən] nlichene m
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

lichen

(ˈlaikən) , (ˈlitʃən) noun
any of a large group of tiny plants which grow over stones, trees etc.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

li·chen

n. liquen, lesiones o erupciones de la piel no contagiosas de forma papular;
atrophic sclerotic ______ esclerotico atrófico;
___ scrofulosorum___ escrofularia;
___ planus___ plano;
___ urticatus___ de urticaria;
ulcerative ______ ulcerativo.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
It was brown with age, weather-worn at the angles, spotted with moss and lichen. Between the massive blocks were strips of grass the leverage of whose roots had pushed them apart.
It was the same rich green that one sees on forest moss or on the lichen in caves: plants which like these grow in a perpetual twilight.
There was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and that only in very small quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; I looked in vain even for a lichen adhering to the rocks.
As I watched them playing about I discovered, not only that they suckled their young, but that at intervals they rose to the surface to breathe as well as to feed upon certain grasses and a strange, scarlet lichen which grew upon the rocks just above the water line.
It clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock.
Having silenced Objection by force of unreason, Will walked to Lowick as if he had been on the way to Paradise, crossing Halsell Common and skirting the wood, where the sunlight fell broadly under the budding boughs, bringing out the beauties of moss and lichen, and fresh green growths piercing the brown.
It seemed to have become vegetable; to have degenerated in that rank, sunless air to lush lichen or spreading moss that grew in patches to the staircase and was viscid under the foot like organic matter.
He stepped over to the nearest tree--an old, old one with gray lichen all over its bark, but upholding a curtain of tangled sprays and branches.
I was startled by a great patch of vivid scarlet on the ground, and going up to it found it to be a peculiar fungus, branched and corrugated like a foliaceous lichen, but deliquescing into slime at the touch; and then in the shadow of some luxuriant ferns I came upon an unpleasant thing,--the dead body of a rabbit covered with shining flies, but still warm and with the head torn off.
Occasionally the marks were hidden under tufts of myrtle, which spread into large bushes laden with blossoms, or beneath parasitical lichen. So Edmond had to separate the branches or brush away the moss to know where the guide-marks were.
Life altogether is but a crumbling ruin when we turn to look behind: a shattered column here, where a massive portal stood; the broken shaft of a window to mark my lady's bower; and a moldering heap of blackened stones where the glowing flames once leaped, and over all the tinted lichen and the ivy clinging green.
The Beaches of Lukannon--the winter wheat so tall-- The dripping, crinkled lichens, and the sea-fog drenching all!