What does "lithe" mean?
Shelter.
Lithe
/laɪð/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Shelter.
- Grammar: lithe is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: supple, adaptable, adaptable, agile.
- Useful contrasts: awkward, gawkier, inflexible.
- Usage evidence: Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn.
How to use "lithe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lithe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lithe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lithe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lithe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lithe" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "supple" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lithe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Shelter. Scotland
"So Cospatric got him the Pict folk to build a strong castle there in the lithe of the hills, with the Grampians dark and bleak behind it, and he had the Den drained and he married a Pict lady and got on her bairns and he lived there till he died."
Verb
- 1 To become calm. intransitive, obsolete
- 2 To attend; listen, hearken. intransitive, obsolete
- 3 to thicken (gravy, etc.) Yorkshire, archaic, dialectal
"lithe widely used as a verb in nEng Sc and Ir, as a noun only in Cu"
- 4 To make soft or mild; soften; alleviate; mitigate; lessen; smooth; palliate. obsolete, transitive
"England.. hath now suppled, lithed and stretched their throats."
- 5 To listen to, hearken to. transitive
Adjective
- 1 Mild; calm. obsolete
"lithe weather"
- 2 Slim but not skinny.
"lithe body"
- 3 Capable of being easily bent; flexible.
"the elephant’s lithe trunk."
- 4 Adaptable.
"Yet the 2016 Éxilé rosé from Lise et Bertrand Jousset in the Loire Valley, made mostly of gamay, was yeasty let^([sic – meaning yet]) light and lithe, while the 2016 Indigeno from Ancarani in Emilia-Romagna, made of trebbiano, was taut and earthy."
Adjective
- 1 gracefully thin and bending and moving with ease wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lithe"?
Common synonyms include: supple, adaptable, adaptable, agile, agile, bendable.
How do you use "lithe" in a sentence?
Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn.
How do you pronounce "lithe"?
Pronounced /laɪð/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lithe, from Old English līþe (“gentle, mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lentos. Akin to Saterland Frisian lied (“thin, skinny, gaunt”), Danish, Dutch, and archaic German lind (“mild”). Some sources also list Latin lenis (“soft”) and/or Latin lentus (“supple”) as possible cognates.
Etymology 2
From Middle English lithen, from Old English līþian, līþigian, līþegian (“to soften, calm, mitigate, assuage, appease, be mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *linþijan, from Proto-Germanic *linþijaną (“to soften”), from Proto-Indo-European *lento- (“bendsome, resilient”). Cognate with German lindern (“to alleviate, ease, relieve”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English lithen, from Old Norse hlýða (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hliuþijaną (“to listen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Danish lytte (“to listen”). Related to Old English hlēoþor (“noise, sound, voice, song, hearing”), Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”). More at loud.
Etymology 4
Uncertain; perhaps an alteration of lewth.
Etymology 5
From Old English līþan.