Where does “lakmus” come from?
lakmus (Polish) comes from German Lackmus, from Dutch lakmoes, from Dutch lak, from French laqué, from Middle French lache, from Omani Arabic لك, from Persian لاک, from Urdu لاکھ — to protect.
lakmus (Polish): litmus
Definitions
- litmus
Ancestry of “lakmus”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Lackmus | litmus |
| 2 | Dutch | lakmoes | litmus |
| 3 | Dutch | lak | lacquer; foolery, foolishness, nonsense;... |
| 4 | French | laqué | past participle of laquer; glazed |
| 5 | Middle French | lache | — |
| 6 | Omani Arabic | لك | — |
| 7 | Persian | لاک | trough, wooden vessel |
| 8 | Urdu | لاکھ | lakh, lac |
| 9 | Maharastri Prakrit | 𑀮𑀓𑁆𑀔 | — |
| 10 | Sanskrit | लक्ष | a mark, sign, token; a mark to aim at, target,... |
| 11 | Sanskrit | लक्ष् | perceive, observe; recognise; to mark, sign |
| 12 | Sanskrit | रक्ष् | to protect, guard, watch, take care of, save,... |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | Hrakṣ- | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | Hrakš- | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂lek- | to protect |