Where does “lacmus” come from?
lacmus (English) comes from Dutch lakmoes, from Dutch lak, from French laqué, from Middle French lache, from Omani Arabic لك, from Persian لاک, from Urdu لاکھ, from Maharastri Prakrit 𑀮𑀓𑁆𑀔 — to protect.
lacmus (English): Litmus, orchil
Ancestry of “lacmus”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | lakmoes | litmus |
| 2 | Dutch | lak | lacquer; foolery, foolishness, nonsense;... |
| 3 | French | laqué | past participle of laquer; glazed |
| 4 | Middle French | lache | — |
| 5 | Omani Arabic | لك | — |
| 6 | Persian | لاک | — |
| 7 | Urdu | لاکھ | lakh, lac |
| 8 | Maharastri Prakrit | 𑀮𑀓𑁆𑀔 | — |
| 9 | Sanskrit | लक्ष | a mark, sign, token; a mark to aim at, target,... |
| 10 | Sanskrit | लक्ष् | perceive, observe; recognise; to mark, sign |
| 11 | Sanskrit | रक्ष् | to protect, guard, watch, take care of, save,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | Hrakṣ- | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | Hrakš- | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂lek- | to protect |