Lithen

//ˈlaɪðən// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make lithe, soften; to ease, mitigate archaic

    "“Nay, daughter, when thou art as old as Notte it will be time enough to reckon years!” returned the dark-skinned sybil, lithening the stiff folds of a viper in a blue oil, which cast out a noisome perfume as she stirred it."

  2. 2
    To thicken a broth or gravy with a thickening agent (e.g. flour, oatmeal, etc.) dialectal

Example

More examples

"“Nay, daughter, when thou art as old as Notte it will be time enough to reckon years!” returned the dark-skinned sybil, lithening the stiff folds of a viper in a blue oil, which cast out a noisome perfume as she stirred it."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English *lithnien, equivalent to lithe + -en.

Etymology 2

From lithe (“a mixture of oatmeal and water”) + -en.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.