- a purple dye prepared from lichens
Origin of cudbearcoined ; from Cuthbert by Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, 18th-c. British physician, who developed the dye
A purplish-red dye derived from certain lichens.
Origin of cudbearAfter Cuthbert, Gordon, 18th-century Scottish chemist.
(countable and uncountable, plural cudbears)
Corrupted from the name of Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, a Scotsman, who patented the process of manufacture.