Word Study
lithe
CIDE DICTIONARY
lithe, v. t. & i. [Icel hl. See Listen.].
To listen or listen to; to hearken to. P. Plowman. [1913 Webster]
lithe, a. [AS. l, for lin tender, mild, gentle; akin to G. lind, gelind, OHG. lindi, Icel. linr, L. lenis soft, mild, lentus flexible, and AS. linnan to yield. Cf. Lenient.].
- Mild; calm; as, lithe weather. [1913 Webster]
- Capable of being easily bent; pliant; flexible; limber; as, the elephant's lithe proboscis. Milton. [1913 Webster]
lithe, v. t. [AS. l. See Lithe, a. ].
To smooth; to soften; to palliate. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
lithe, adj. flexible, supple.
Derivative
lithely adv. litheness n. lithesome adj.
Etymology
OE lithe f. Gmc
THESAURUS
lithe
adaptable, bendable, bending, compliant, ductile, elastic, extensible, extensile, fabricable, facile, fictile, flexible, flexile, flexuous, formable, formative, giving, impressible, impressionable, lean, like putty, limber, lissome, lithesome, malleable, moldable, plastic, pliable, pliant, receptive, responsive, sensitive, sequacious, shapable, slender, slight, slim, spare, springy, submissive, supple, susceptible, thin, tractable, tractile, whippy, willowy, yieldingROGET THESAURUS
lithe
Softness
N softness, pliableness, flexibility, pliancy, pliability, sequacity, malleability, ductility, tractility, extendibility, extensibility, plasticity, inelasticity, flaccidity, laxity, penetrability, clay, wax, butter, dough, pudding, alumina, argil, cushion, pillow, feather bed, down, padding, wadding, foam, mollification, softening, soft, tender, supple, pliant, pliable, flexible, flexile, lithe, lithesome, lissom, limber, plastic, ductile, tractile, tractable, malleable, extensile, sequacious, inelastic, aluminous, remollient, yielding, flabby, limp, flimsy, doughy, spongy, penetrable, foamy, cushiony, flaccid, flocculent, downy, edematous, oedematous, medullary, argillaceous, mellow, soft as butter, soft as down, soft as silk, yielding as wax, tender as chicken.For further exploring for "lithe" in Webster Dictionary Online
