By contrast, etymology for "lichen" has nothing to do with corpses, apparently: Borrowed from Latin līchēn, from Ancient Greek λειχήν (leikhḗn), from λείχω (le

By 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.