Standard Lemma guide

litmus

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈlɪtməs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪtməs
  • CMU ARPABET: L IH1 T M AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens, that changes color when exposed to pH levels greater than or less than certain critical levels.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A simple test of acidity in a liquid using litmus, usually in the form of litmus paper.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A simple test of any attribute; a litmus test.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a coloring material (obtained from lichens) that turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline solutions; used as a very rough acid-base indicator

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: litmus test

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: acid-base indicator

History

Etymology

From Middle English litmose, lytmose, litemose, from Old Norse litmosi (“moss used for dyeing”), from lita (“to dye, stain”) + mosi (“moss”), the former from litr (“colour, dye, blee”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz (“appearance, blee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Old English wlite (“appearance, form, brightness, countenance”). More at moss.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: лакмус (lakmus) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 石蕊 (shíruǐ) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Czech: lakmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • Dutch: lakmoes — dyestuff from lichen
  • Finnish: lakmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • French: tournesol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Galician: tornasol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Georgian: ლაკმუსი (laḳmusi) — dyestuff from lichen
  • German: Lackmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • Greek: ηλιοτρόπιο (iliotrópio) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Hungarian: lakmusz — dyestuff from lichen
  • Italian: tornasole — dyestuff from lichen
  • Japanese: リトマス (ritomasu) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Korean: 리트머스 (riteumeoseu) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Latin: lacmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • Macedonian: лакмус (lakmus) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Māori: tohu waikawa — dyestuff from lichen
  • Persian: تورنسل (tornesol) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Polish: lakmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • Portuguese: tornassol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Russian: ла́кмус (lákmus) — dyestuff from lichen
  • Spanish: tornasol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Swedish: lackmus — dyestuff from lichen
  • Tagalog: tornasol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Turkish: turnusol — dyestuff from lichen
  • Turkish: turnusol boyası — dyestuff from lichen
  • Vietnamese: quỳ — dyestuff from lichen