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lith
lithnounan arm or leg; limb.
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lith-
lith-variant of litho- before a vowel.
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-lith
-litha combining form meaning “stone” (acrolith; megalith; paleolith ); sometimes occurring in words as a variant form of -lite (batholith; laccolith ).
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lith.
lith.abbreviationlithograph.
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Lith.
Lith.abbreviationLithuania.
lith
1 Americannoun
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an arm or leg; limb.
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a joint, as of the finger.
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a segment, as of an orange.
abbreviation
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lithograph.
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lithographic.
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lithography.
combining form
abbreviation
Usage
Basic definitions of lith- and -lith Lith- and -lith are combining forms meaning “stone.” They come from the Greek líthos, meaning “stone.”What does lith- mean?Lith- is a combining form used like a prefix. It is used in medicine, especially in pathology, and in science, especially in geology. In pathology terms, lith- specifically refers to a calculus, "a stone, or concretion, formed in the gallbladder, kidneys, or other parts of the body." The word calculus itself literally means “little stone” in calculus. Lith- is a variant of litho-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use litho- article. What does -lith mean?The combining form -lith is used like a suffix meaning “stone.” It is used in scientific and medical terms, especially in geology and pathology. In pathology, it specifically refers to a calculus, "a stone, or concretion, formed in the gallbladder, kidneys, or other parts of the body." The word calculus itself literally means “little stone” in calculus. In geology, -lith is occasionally used as a variant of -lite and its variant -lyte, combining forms used to name minerals or fossils. The corresponding form of -lith combined to the beginning of words is litho- and lith-. Learn more about their specific applications in our Words That Use articles for the terms. Closely related to -lith is -lithic, as in Paleolithic.
Etymology
Origin of lith1
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, Old High German lid, Old Norse lithr, Gothic lithus limb, member; akin to German Glied
Origin of -lith3
see origin at litho-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Lond and lede, or ledes, or lith, frequently occur unequivocally in this latter sense, thus:— "He was the first of Inglond that gaf God his tithe Of isshue of bestes, of londes, or of lithe."
From Notes and Queries, Number 27, May 4, 1850 by Various
But the reader will remark many instances in which th final seems to have the hard sound of t, as in brouth, 57, nouth, 58, lith, 534, þouth, 1190, &c.; cf.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
His state of desolation is poetically described: He that werd the fowe and griis, And on bed the purpur biis, Now on bard hethe he lith.
From Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 2 Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in The Southern Counties of Scotland; with a Few of Modern Date, Founded Upon Local Tradition by Sir Walter Scott
Take this," he said, "and show to her How great my languor, sith This signet's round will not be found To bear one hurted lith.
From The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877 by Various
Wok ubbe, and saw a mikel lith In þe bour þat hauelok lay, Also brith so it were day.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
Agni, fire, god of fire; Lat. ignis; Lith. ugnis; O.-S. ogni.
From History of Religion A Sketch of Primitive Religious Beliefs and Practices, and of the Origin and Character of the Great Systems by Allan Menzies
Lith. of Ritchies & Dunnavant Richmond, Va. Tab: 2 Book: 3 Pag 129 Tab.
From The History of Virginia, in Four Parts by Robert Beverley
To the root ab or ap, water, place the Lith. and Lett. uppe, river, whence the following.
From The River-Names of Europe by Robert Ferguson
Sw., and Dan. ”l, Lith. alus a kind of beer, OSlav. ol? beer.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.