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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:
More remotely with the Sansc. lî, liquere, and directly with Welsh lleithio, to moisten, llyddo, to pour, Gael. lith, a pool, smooth water, Goth. leithus, Ang.-Sax. lidh, liquor, poculum, potus, I connect the following.
From The River-Names of Europe by Robert Ferguson
In this yere, that is to seye in the xij day of Juyn the yere of oure lord a mlccclxxxxiiij, the goode lady quene deyde at Shene, and lith entered worthyly at Westm’.
From A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483 Written in the Fifteenth Century, and for the First Time Printed from MSS. in the British Museum by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas
He's buirdly an' stalwart in lith an' in limb; Gin ye were his master in war The field was a saft eneugh litter for him, Ye needna hae brought him sae far.
From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 2 by Burton Egbert Stevenson
So they encountered, and Sir Launcelot bare him down horse and man, so that his shoulder went out of lith.
From Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory
He had "forgotten" Cromwell, who, as Lord Auchinleck reminded Dr. Johnson, had "gart kings ken that they had a lith in their neck!"
From The Works of Lord Byron, Vol. 7. Poetry by Ernest Hartley Coleridge
Lith. of Ritchies & Dunnavant Richmond, Va. Tab: 2 Book: 3 Pag 129 Tab.
From The History of Virginia, in Four Parts by Robert Beverley
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
Sw., and Dan. ”l, Lith. alus a kind of beer, OSlav. ol? beer.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
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
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.