lithe

[lahyth]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lithe ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, lith·er, lith·est.

bending readily; pliant; limber; supple; flexible: the lithe body of a ballerina.

Nearby words

Also lithe·some [lahyth -suh m] /ˈlaɪð səm/.

Origin of lithe

before 900; Middle English lith(e), Old English līthe; cognate with Old Saxon līthi, German lind “mild,” Latin lentus “slow”

Related formslithe·ly, adverblithe·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lithe

Yet there were no pictures of Harry in his swimming trunks being kissed by lithe beauties on Ipanema Beach this week.
Prince Harry Should Be King: The Royal Family’s Ace Card|Tim Teeman|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He wanted to be lithe and smooth and lightly airborne, working on his break dancing until he could make himself appear to flow.
Shaq, Year One|Charles P. Pierce|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Who was that lithe, bendable gymnast setting alight the Olympic flame?
Meet Putin’s Olympic Torch-Lighting Paramour|Lizzie Crocker|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fact is that Putin has never publically acknowledged his rumored relationship with the lithe, bendable Kabaeva.
Meet Putin’s Olympic Torch-Lighting Paramour|Lizzie Crocker|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Fishermen, like thieves, shake out their silver,/ the lithe knives wriggle on the drying sand.
This Week’s Hot Reads: January 19th, 2014|Nicholas Mancusi|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then comes this Uncas of the eagle air, swooping with lithe movement to his rocky trysting-place.
James Fenimore Cooper|Mary E. Phillips
Tall and lithe of form, straight of feature was the Israelite king.
The Little Maid of Israel|Emma Howard Wight
She was lithe and gracefully built, and quick in her motions.
Samuel the Seeker|Upton Sinclair
Driscoll seemed as indifferent as ever, though there was a lithe, alert spring in his step.
The Missourian|Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
A lithe figure in a gray habit and a broad-brimmed hat, fair as a Swede, but with dark eyes and heavy lashes.
Mr. Isaacs|F. Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for lithe

lithe

adjective

flexible or supple

Derived Formslithely, adverblitheness, noun

Word Origin for lithe

Old English (in the sense: gentle; C15: supple); related to Old High German lindi soft, Latin lentus slow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lithe

lithe

adj.

Old English liðe "soft, mild, gentle, meek," from Proto-Germanic *linthja- (cf. Old Saxon lithi "soft, mild, gentle," Old High German lindi, German lind, Old Norse linr, with characteristic loss of "n" before "th" in English), from PIE root *lent- "flexible" (cf. Latin lentus "flexible, pliant, slow," Sanskrit lithi). In Middle English, used of the weather. Current sense of "easily flexible" is from c.1300. Related: Litheness.