Word
lye
US/ˈɫaɪ/
UK/lˈaɪ/
Definition
n. a very strong chemical used to make soap or to clean things. It is also used in some traditional foods, like pretzels, to give them a dark color and a soft crust.
n. a strong alkaline solution, typically sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, used in the saponification process to produce soap. It is also employed in industrial cleaning and food preparation to create a specific texture or appearance.
Examples
“The chef brushed the dough with lye before baking the pretzels.”
“Before modern detergents, people used lye mixed with animal fat to make their own soap for washing clothes.”
“While highly effective for industrial degreasing, lye requires careful handling due to its caustic nature, as it can cause severe chemical burns if it comes into contact with skin or eyes.”
Examples
simple
“The chef brushed the dough with lye before baking the pretzels.”
contextual
“Before modern detergents, people used lye mixed with animal fat to make their own soap for washing clothes.”
complex
“While highly effective for industrial degreasing, lye requires careful handling due to its caustic nature, as it can cause severe chemical burns if it comes into contact with skin or eyes.”
Real-World Examples
“They also found containers of lye, which they believed the Zizians intended to use to dissolve Lind’s body.” Etymology
From Middle English leye, lye, from Old English lēah, lēag (“lye”), from Proto-West Germanic laugu, from Proto-Germanic laugō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Loge, Looie (“lye”), Dutch loog (“lye”), German Low German Loge, Loje, Loog (“lye”), German Lauge (“lye”). Compare typologically Ancient Greek ῥύμμα (rhúmma) < ῥύπτω (rhúptō, “to cleanse, to wash”).
Variant of lie (“to rest horizontally”) now used in a specialised sense; compare sett.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lye