🌱 A patchy plant 🩹 A skin condition 🌱 To cover

to lichen

9.9

To become covered with a growth of fungus and algae

verb
/ˈlaɪkən/

Specialized

: cubrir de líquenes

The water bucket, half an inch from empty, sat on a flat, lichened rock that was almost level.

Examples

They noticed how quickly the logs began to lichen after being left outside.
As time passed, the stone wall started to lichen in the shaded areas.
The old tree began to lichen as it was exposed to the damp weather.

Synonyms

to lichenize

vsto lichen

Specialized

9.9

To become covered with small green or grey growths on things like stone and wood

is the same action but uses the base word as a verb without -ize

Compounds

beard lichen

9.2

A hanging grey-green growth on tree branches that looks like a beard

lichen planus

Specialized

9.6

A skin disease that causes shiny, flat, purple, itchy bumps on the wrists or forearms

lichen ruber planus

Specialized

9.9

A skin problem that causes shiny flat purple itchy bumps on the arms and thighs

manna lichen

9.9

A crusty or bushy plant-like growth in deserts that people and animals eat

horsehair lichen

Specialized

9.9

A plant-like growth with long thin threads that hang from tree branches

horsetail lichen

Specialized

9.9

A living growth of thin, hair-like threads that hangs from tree branches

Iceland lichen

Specialized

9.9

A pale, branched plant-like growth that grows on rocks in cold, high places and is used as food or medicine

reindeer lichen

Specialized

9.3

A grey bushy growth like a small plant that covers the tundra and feeds reindeer

Surface Forms

lichen infinitive

lichened past

lichened past participle

lichening present participle

lichens third person singular

Etymology

The verb lichen comes from the same Greek root leichēn and simply means to become covered with lichen; think of a surface being slowly 'licked' over by these patchy growths, which is why we say something has 'lichened' when it is covered.