lichen Hear it!

lichen definition

li·chen (lī′kən)

noun

  1. any of various small plants composed of a particular fungus and a particular alga growing in an intimate symbiotic association and forming a dual plant, commonly adhering in colored patches or spongelike branches to rock, wood, soil, etc.
  2. any of various skin diseases characterized by papules and enlarged skin markings

Etymology: L < Gr leichēn, prob. < leichein, to lick

transitive verb

to cover with lichens

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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