Lichenize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To spread over a surface and form a lichen growth on it ; to take on the crusty lichen covering over time
2. To cover a rock, bark or other surface with lichen growth ; to develop a lichen coating as a result of colonization
3. To establish a lichen community on something and thereby become overlaid with it ; to be transformed into a lichen-covered surface

Etymology: "Lichenize" is a plain formation: the noun "lichen" with the verbal suffix "-ize," which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make or become like it. Here the sense is to become covered with lichen, the crusty, moss-like growth that spreads slowly over rock, bark and old stone. The noun "lichen" itself comes from Latin "lichen," borrowed from Greek "leichēn," a word for a skin eruption or tree-growing crust. The Greek sense is the clue to why the same word covers both human skin conditions and the greenish patches on tree trunks. The suffix "-ize" comes through Latin "-izare" from Greek "-izein," and it has been used in English for centuries to build verbs from nouns, as in "crystallize" or "modernize."