lithe

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /laɪð/, (US also) /laɪθ/, (nonstandard) /lɪθ/ (compare lissom) Rhymes: -aɪð === Etymology 1 === From Middle English lithe, from Old English līþe (“gentle, mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lentos. Akin to Saterland Frisian lied (“thin, skinny, gaunt”), Danish, Dutch, and archaic German lind (“mild”). Some sources also list Latin lenis (“soft”) and/or Latin lentus (“supple”) as possible cognates. ==== Adjective ==== lithe (comparative lither, superlative lithest) (obsolete) Mild; calm. Synonyms: clement, gentle, mellow Slim but not skinny. Synonyms: lithesome, lissome, swack; see also Thesaurus:slender Capable of being easily bent; flexible. Synonyms: pliant, flexible, limber; see also Thesaurus:flexible 1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Elsie Venner, page 125 … she danced with a kind of passionate fierceness, her lithe body undulating with flexuous grace … Adaptable. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== -inda lind linden Linda ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English lithen, from Old English līþian, līþigian, līþegian (“to soften, calm, mitigate, assuage, appease, be mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþijan, from Proto-Germanic *linþijaną (“to soften”), from Proto-Indo-European *lento- (“bendsome, resilient”). Cognate with German lindern (“to alleviate, ease, relieve”). ==== Verb ==== lithe (third-person singular simple present lithes, present participle lithing, simple past and past participle lithed) (intransitive, obsolete) To become calm. (transitive, obsolete) To make soft or mild; soften; alleviate; mitigate; lessen; smooth; palliate. === Etymology 3 === From Middle English lithen, from Old Norse hlýða (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hliuþijaną (“to listen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Danish lytte (“to listen”). Related to Old English hlēoþor (“noise, sound, voice, song, hearing”), Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”). More at loud. ==== Alternative forms ==== lythe ==== Verb ==== lithe (third-person singular simple present lithes, present participle lithing, simple past and past participle lithed) (intransitive, obsolete) To attend; listen, hearken. (transitive) To listen to, hearken to. === Etymology 4 === Uncertain; perhaps an alteration of lewth. ==== Noun ==== lithe (plural lithes) (Scotland) Shelter. === Etymology 5 === From Middle English lithen (“to make gentle or mild; to relax, soothe”), from Old English līþan (“to assuage, mitigate, soften”), from līþe (“lithe, gentle”). ==== Verb ==== lithe (third-person singular simple present lithes, present participle lithing, simple past and past participle lithed) (archaic, dialect, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire) to thicken (gravy, etc.) 1994, Arnold Kellett, The English Dialect Dictionary, Smith Settle, page 105 lithe 'to thicken soups, sauces, etc.' === Anagrams === Leith, Theil, Thiel, lieth == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === ==== Noun ==== lithe alternative form of light === Etymology 2 === ==== Noun ==== lithe alternative form of lyth