Cudbear

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cudbear \Cud"bear`\ (k?d"b?r`), n. [Also {cudbeard}, corrupted
     fr. the name of Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, a Scotchman, who first
     brought it into notice.]
     1. A powder of a violet red color, difficult to moisten with
        water, used for making violet or purple dye. It is
        prepared from certain species of lichen, especially


        {Lecanora tartarea}. --Ure.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) A lichen ({Lecanora tartarea}), from which the
        powder is obtained.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cudbear
       n : a purplish dye obtained from orchil lichens [syn: {orchil},
           {archil}]