lye, originally the clear alkaline liquid left after leaching wood ash in water · scum, the coagulated proteins and fats that gather on the surface of a pot of boiling food · components contained in vegetables that impart an acrid, astringent, or harsh flavor
köken: Likely derived from verb 飽きる・厭きる・倦きる (akiru), older form 飽く・厭く・倦く (aku, “to be full up; to be fully done; to tire of something, to have too much of something”). First cited to the 古今和歌集 (Kokin Wakashū) of the early 900s, where the term is used as a pun for the verb. The senses related to flavor and harshness arose from the practice of using lye in food processing to remove unpleasant flavors. The…
köken: Probably the feminine of an adjective *lixus (“fluid”), from Proto-Italic *liksos, cognate to ēlixus, prōlixus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wleykʷ- (“fluid, wet”) and so cognate to liqueō.
köken: From Old Danish lut, ludh, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to bathe, wash”). Related to Old Norse lauðr. Cognates include Swedish lut and Icelandic lútur.