1. a violet dye obtained from certain lichens
Usage: archaic
2. any of various lichens that yield this dye
Usage: archaic

Examples

• The medieval dyers used archil to create rich purple fabrics.
• Archil was extracted from lichens growing on coastal rocks.
• The ancient recipe called for archil to achieve the desired violet hue.
• Before synthetic dyes, archil was a valuable trade commodity.
• The lichen species used for archil grew slowly on stone surfaces.