Etymology

From Dutch lakmoes, from Middle Dutch lecmoes, a compound of the cognates of German lecken ‎(“to leak”) and Mus ‎(“mush”). The former was later adapted to Dutch lak, German Lack ‎(“varnish”). It is obvious that there must be a relation between Middle Dutch lecmoes and synonymous Old Norse litmosi (whence English litmus), but the nature of this relation is unsettled.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlakmʊs/, /ˈlakˌmuːs/