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Semi-related, the Old English word for cemetery was "licburg": corpse-town. The lic- in that is the source of "lich".
by acheron 2y ago
Semi-related, the Old English word for cemetery was "licburg": corpse-town. The lic- in that is the source of "lich".
- AStonesThrow 2y agoBy contrast, etymology for "lichen" has nothing to do with corpses, apparently: Borrowed from Latin līchēn, from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn), from λείχω (leíkhō, “to lick”). Which, I must presume, is derived from the behaviours of animals which eat the stuff, licking it off rocks.