laith
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of laith
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lath, loth for the adjective; Middle English lath(i)en, loth(i)en for the verb
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.
I wad be laith to run an' chase thee, Wi' murderin' pattle!
From A Day with the Poet Burns by Anonymous
Sa mot her heart be fillet full of syte, As Herois was for Leander's death; Herself to slay for woe who thought delyte, For Henry's sake to like our Queen was laith.
From Mary Queen of Scots 1542-1587 by Various
Wullie was naething laith, and back they gaed the-gither.
From The Science of Fairy Tales An Inquiry into Fairy Mythology by Hartland, Edwin Sidney
Go round by th’ end o’ t’ laith, if ye went to spake to him.’
From Wuthering Heights by Brontë, Emily
When winter blaws in sleety showers, Frae aff the norlan' hills sae hie, He lightly skiffs thy bonny bowers, As laith to harm a flower in thee.
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Rogers, Charles
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.
