lithe

[ lahyth ]

/ laɪð /

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See synonyms for: lithe / litheness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, lith·er, lith·est.

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

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Also lithe·some

[lahyth-suhm] /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”

OTHER WORDS FROM lithe

lithely, adverblitheness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lithe in a sentence

In which the drowzie God of sleepe his lither limbes doth rest.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
The birds were about the size of the hermit thrushes, but lither and suppler.
Birds of the Rockies|Leander Sylvester Keyser
She was like a tigress in a wicker cage, growing hungrier, lither, more gracefully fierce.
We Can't Have Everything|Rupert Hughes
It is clean-cut in shape, perhaps rather lither than the brown trout, and when large it is not so deep.
Fishing in British Columbia|Thomas Wilson Lambert

Then higher is Lither lane, turning also to the field, lately replenished with houses built, and so to the bar.
The Survey of London|John Stow

British Dictionary definitions for lithe

lithe

/ (laɪð) /

adjective

flexible or supple

Derived forms of lithe

lithely, 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

lithe

Origin of lithe

OTHER WORDS FROM lithe

Words related to lithe

How to use lithe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lithe

Derived forms of lithe

Word Origin for lithe