Where does “лакмус” come from?

лакмус (Kazakh) comes from Russian ла́кмус, from German Lackmus, from Dutch lakmoes, from Dutch lak, from French laqué, from Middle French lache, from Omani Arabic لك, from Persian لاک — to protect.

лакмус (Kazakh): litmus dyestuff

Definitions

  1. litmus dyestuff

Ancestry of “лакмус”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianла́кмусlitmus dyestuff from lichen
2GermanLackmuslitmus
3Dutchlakmoeslitmus
4Dutchlaklacquer; foolery, foolishness, nonsense;...
5Frenchlaquépast participle of laquer; glazed
6Middle Frenchlache
7Omani Arabicلك
8Persianلاکtrough, wooden vessel
9Urduلاکھlakh, lac
10Maharastri Prakrit𑀮𑀓𑁆𑀔
11Sanskritलक्षa mark, sign, token; a mark to aim at, target,...
12Sanskritलक्ष्perceive, observe; recognise; to mark, sign
13Sanskritरक्ष्to protect, guard, watch, take care of, save,...
14Proto-Indo-AryanHrakṣ-
15Proto-Indo-IranianHrakš-
16Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂lek-to protect
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂lek-