Added 9 October 2026
lithe
/laɪð/ adjective
Latin root: lenis Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lithe at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Gracefully thin and bending and moving with ease.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)