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• lith
  lith

  noun

  an arm or leg; limb.
• lith-
  lith-

  variant of litho- before a vowel.
• -lith
  -lith

  a combining form meaning “stone” (acrolith; megalith; paleolith ); sometimes occurring in words as a variant form of -lite (batholith; laccolith ).
• lith.
  lith.

  abbreviation

  lithograph.
• Lith.
  Lith.

  abbreviation

  Lithuania.

lith

¹ American  

[lith] / lɪθ /

noun

British Dialect.

1. an arm or leg; limb.

2. a joint, as of the finger.

3. a segment, as of an orange.

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lith- ² American  

1. variant of litho- before a vowel.

   lithic.

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-lith ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “stone” (acrolith; megalith; paleolith ); sometimes occurring in words as a variant form of -lite (batholith; laccolith ).

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lith. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. lithograph.

2. lithographic.

3. lithography.

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Lith. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Lithuania.

2. Lithuanian. Also Lith

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-lith ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating stone or rock Compare -lite

   megalith

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Lith. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Lithuania(n)

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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

Qu. cut in pieces, from the same root as to lith, divide the joints.

From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown

Thy own blood life-fluid wanting, thy own shi-i-nán án-ti-shi-mán a-k'iá tom lith hâ häl-lo-wa-ti-nán á-thle-a-ú thlâ á-thle-a-ú.

From Zuñi Fetiches Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1880-1881, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1883, pages 3-45 by Cushing, Frank Hamilton

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 Coleridge, Ernest Hartley

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 Scott, Walter, Sir

Now lith and lysten, gentylmen, And that of myrthes loveth to here; Two of them were single men, The third had a wedded fere.

From Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Fourth Series by Sidgwick, Frank