Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Lime

Lime (līm) , noun

[See Leam a string.]

A thong by which a dog is led; a leash. — Halliwell

Lime , noun

[Formerly line, for earlier lind. See Linden.]

(Botany) The linden tree. See Linden.

Lime , noun

[French lime; of Persian origin. See Lemon.]

The term lime was formerly also applied to variants of the closely related citron, of which there are two varieties, Citrus Medica, var. acida which is intensely sour, and the sweet lime (Citrus Medica, var. Limetta) which is only slightly sour. See citron.

1.
(Botany) The fruit of the Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon, but greener in color; also, the tree which bears it.
2.
The color of the lime{1}, a yellowish-green.

Lime , noun

[Anglo-Saxon līm; akin to Dutch lijm, German leim, Old High German līm, Icelandic līm, Swedish lim, Danish liim, Latin limus mud, linere to smear, and English loam. r126. Compare Loam, Liniment.]

1.
Birdlime.
Like the lime That foolish birds are caught with. — Wordsworth
2.
(Chemistry) Oxide of calcium, CaO; the white or gray, caustic substance, usually called quicklime, obtained by calcining limestone or shells, the heat driving off carbon dioxide and leaving lime. It develops great heat when treated with water, forming slaked lime, and is an essential ingredient of cement, plastering, mortar, etc.

Lime is the principal constituent of limestone, marble, chalk, bones, shells, etc.

Collocations (4)
Caustic lime , Calcium hydroxide or slaked lime; also, in a less technical sense, calcium oxide or quicklime.
Lime burner , one who burns limestone, shells, etc., to make lime.
Lime pit , a limestone quarry.
Lime rod or Lime twig , a twig smeared with birdlime; hence, that which catches; a snare. — Chaucer

Lime (līmd) , transitive verb

[Compare Anglo-Saxon gelīman to glue or join together. See Lime a viscous substance.]

1.
To smear with a viscous substance, as birdlime.
These twigs, in time, will come to be limed. — L'Estrange
2.
To entangle; to insnare.
We had limed ourselves With open eyes, and we must take the chance. — Tennyson
3.
To treat with lime, or oxide or hydrate of calcium; to manure with lime; as, to lime hides for removing the hair; to lime sails in order to whiten them; to lime the lawn to decrease acidity of the soil.
Land may be improved by draining, marling, and liming. — Sir J. Child
4.
To cement.
Who gave his blood to lime the stones together. — Shakespeare

lime (līm") , adjective

having a yellowish-green color like that of the lime (the fruit).