lime, n.2
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Pronunciation:
/laɪm/
Forms:
Also 16 lyme.(Show Less)
a. The globular fruit of the tree Citrus Medica, var. acida, smaller than the lemon and of a more acid taste; more explicitly sour lime. Its juice is much used as a beverage. sweet lime n. Citrus Medica, var. Limetta.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav.
(rev. ed.)
28
The Ile [Mohelia] inricht us with many good things;..Orenges, Lemons, Lymes.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World x. 296
The Lime is a sort of bastard or Crab-limon. The Tree, or Bush that bears it is prickly, like a Thorn, growing full of small boughs.
1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons
(new ed.)
82
To where the Lemon and the piercing Lime,..Their lighter Glories blend.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 573
The ruddier orange and the paler lime.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 260
Citrus Limetta, the cultivated Sweet Lime.
1638—1857(Hide quotations)
b. Applied with qualification to fruits of trees of other genera. Ogeechee lime n. the sour tupelo, Nyssa capitata, of which a conserve is made. wild lime n. Atalantia monophylla ( Treasury Bot. 1866), Xanthoxylum Pterota ( Cent. Dict. 1890), and (in Jamaica) Rheedia lateriflora (Fawcett in Bulletin Bot. Dept. Jamaica, 1896); also, in Australia, = kumquat n. 2.
1767 P. Collinson Let. 31 July in W. Darlington Memorials J. Bartram & H. Marshall
(1849)
292
The Wild Lime..is a singular plant.
1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 221
In Georgia this tree is known by the name of Sour Tupelo and Wild Lime.
1863 R. Henning Let. 26 Nov.
(1966)
147
We went out to pick some wild limes for preserving. They are a little fruit about the size of a large gooseberry, but in colour, taste, smell and shape exactly like a small lemon.
1965 Austral. Encycl. IV. 227/2
Eremocitrus glauca, native kumquat or wild lime (Rutaceæ): small spiny tree of western New South Wales and Queensland; the globular ½ inch fruits are pleasantly acidic and suitable for preserves, also cool drinks.
1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World xxi. 209/1
The wild-lime (Zanthoxylum fagara) of Florida, Mexico, the West Indies..is an evergreen species.
1767—1969(Hide quotations)
c. ellipt. for lime-green adj. at Compounds 1; also for lime-juice n., as in phr. gin and lime.
1923 Daily Mail 19 Feb. 1
(advt.)
Smart skirt... Colours: navy,..gold, lime, cardinal and black.
1937 Discovery July 217/2
Dresses are burgundy, pine-blue, lime.
1938 L. MacNeice Earth Compels 23
A gin and lime or a double Scotch.
1972 Vogue Jan. 12/2
The colours..are remarkable—lime and raspberry, lemon, orange, rose.
1923—1972(Hide quotations)
Compounds
C1. General attrib. lime-juice n.
lime-green adj.
1890 Daily News 14 July 3/4
The scene was gay with white gowns, pale heliotrope, citron, lime-green.
1890—1890(Hide quotations)
lime-tree n.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. viii. 216
We found there abundance of cassia, and a few lime-trees.
1748—1748(Hide quotations)
C2.
lime-marmalade n. marmalade made from limes.
c1938 Fortnum & Mason Price List 44/1
Marmalade..Lime—per glass 1/3.
1968 ‘J. Fraser’ Evergreen Death x. 80
He did like that lime marmalade they used to get.
1972 New Statesman 26 May 709/1
Coffee, bread and lime-marmalade.
c1938—1972(Hide quotations)
lime-myrtle n. the West-Indian name for Triphasia trifoliata (Grisebach Flora Brit. W. Indian Islands, 1864).
lime-plant n. the May-apple, Podophyllum peltatum.
1844 C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl.,
Lime-plant, the May-apple, or wild mandrake; Podophyllum peltatum.
1844—1844(Hide quotations)
lime-punch n. punch made with lime-juice instead of lemon-juice.
1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. & Lett.
(1900)
206
We had after Dinner, Lime Punch and Madaira.
1834 Tait's Edinb. Mag. New Ser. 1 299/2,
‘I dine with a turtle-party at Bleaden's’. ‘Nothing like Bleaden's lime-punch, Sir Jacob, eh?’
1774—1834(Hide quotations)
lime-squash n. a drink made with the juice of the lime (cf. lemon-squash n. at lemon n.1 Compounds 2).
1909 Daily Chron. 15 June 4/4
For drinking, lime-squash is superior to lemon squash.
1939–40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 28/2
Lime squash.
1909—1939-40(Hide quotations)