lithe
To listen to, hearken toTo listen to, hearken to.
» Love me lithe, love me long.
Люби меня гибко, люби меня долго.
Meaning
5 senses(transitive)To listen to, hearken to.
(intransitive, obsolete)To become calm.
(obsolete, transitive)To make soft or mild; soften; alleviate; mitigate; lessen; smooth; palliate.
(intransitive, obsolete)To attend; listen, hearken.
(Yorkshire, archaic, dialectal)To thicken (gravy, etc.)
Examples
5 sentencesLove me lithe, love me long.
ruЛюби меня гибко, люби меня долго.
This ballerina has a lithe body.
ruУ этой балерины гибкое тело.
Mary has a lithe body.
ruУ Мэри гибкое тело.
Swiftly, her lithe form darted through the forest paths until she reached the edge of the forest.
Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn.
Origin
From Middle English lithen, from Old English līþian, līþigian, līþegian (“to soften, calm,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”).
From Middle English lithen, from Old Norse hlýða (“to listen”), from Proto-Germanic *hliuþijaną (“to listen”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”).
From Middle English lithen (“to make gentle or mild; to relax, soothe”), from Old English līþan (“to assuage, mitigate, soften”), from līþe (“lithe, gentle”).
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Forms
lithes, lithing, lithed, lithedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle