Etymology

litmus

lit·mus
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Today it means: A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens, that changes color when exposed to pH levels greater than or less than certain critical levels. Full definition →

Middle English litmose ← Old Norse litmosi ← Proto-Germanic *wlitiz
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wel-“to see”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*wlitiz
  3. Old Norse · derived fromlitmosi“moss used for dyeing”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromlitmose
  5. English todaylitmus

From Middle English litmose, lytmose, litemose, from Old Norse litmosi (“moss used for dyeing”), from lita (“to dye, stain”) + mosi (“moss”), the former from litr (“colour, dye, blee”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz (“appearance, blee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Old English wlite (“appearance, form, brightness, countenance”). More at moss.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*wlitiz all →

lit

Proto-Indo-European*wel- all →

wallwealthwildernesslitweltwaldgallopwoldlaitwallopwealdVöluspá

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.