▪ I. † lithe, n.1 Obs.
[f. lithe a.; not connected with lethe a.]
A calm, lull; fig. respite.
| c 1300 Havelok 147 Ne he ne mouchte no lyþe gete. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 310/1 Lyye, or lythe, and calme wedyr, malacia. |
Hence † ˈlithefull a., calm, gentle.
| c 1205 Lay. 1262 He þonkede hire ȝeorne mid liðfulle worden. |
▪ II. lithe, n.2 Obs. exc. dial.
In 7 lyth, 9 lythe.
[? f. lithe v.2]
(See quots.)
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 83/1 Lyth, or Lything, is Oatmeal or bruised Groats that thickens Broth. 1899 Cumbld. Gloss., Lythe, oatmeal and water mixed smooth and added to broth to thicken it. |
▪ III. lithe, n.3 Sc.
(laɪð)
Also 8–9 lythe.
[? variant of lewth. (But cf. lithe a. 2 c.)]
Warm shelter.
| 1768 Ross Helenore (1789) 58 She frae ony beeld was far awa', Except stane-sides, and they had little lythe. 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer II. 195 Come into the lythe o' the bank here. |
▪ IV. lithe, a.
(laɪð)
Forms: 1 l{iacu}ðe, l{yacu}ðe, 2–5 liðe, 4 liȝth, 4–7 lith, lythe, 5–7 lyth, 8–9 dial. lyth(e, 4– lithe. Also 3 i-liðe.
[OE. l{iacu}ðe = OS. lîthi, OHG. lindi (MHG. linde, mod.G. lind) soft, gentle, mild:—OTeut. type *linþjo-, f. Teut. and WAryan root *len-, whence lin v., ON. lin-r soft, L. lentus slow.]
† 1. Of persons, their actions, dispositions and utterances: Gentle, meek, mild. Const. dat. or to. Obs.
| Beowulf 3183 Manna mildust..leodum liðost. a 1000 Apollonius of Tyre (1834) 2/25 Ða cliopode heo hi hire to mid liðere spræce. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 5 Eadiᵹe synt þa liðan. c 1200 Ormin 7754 Forr lamb iss soffte & stille deor, & liþe & meoc & milde. c 1205 Lay. 4 He wes Leouenaðes sone liðe him beo drihten. Ibid. 4917 Þu eært me swiðe iliðe [c 1275 liþe] & ich þe leouie swiðe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 428 Swuch ouh wummone lore to beon—luuelich & liðe. a 1325 Prose Psalter cxliv. [cxlv.] 9 Our Lord is liþe to alle. c 1400 Destr. Troy 9706 The first of þo fre, þat to þe freike said, Was Vlyxes, the lord, with his lythe wordes. |
2. Of things, chiefly material things: Mild, soft; also, agreeable, mellow, pleasant. Of a medicine: Gentle in operation. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xl. §3 Hwæðer him cume þe reðu w[y]rd þe liðu. a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 211 (Gr.) Þæt liðe land. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Ðet weter of egipte wes liðe and swete. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 707 Water þai asked swiþe... Wit mete and drink liþe. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 118 To make lythe of that was harde. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 87 If þe quytture be þicke & towȝ, þanne is þe medicyn to liþe. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3762 The savour soft and lythe Strook to myn herte withoute more. 1642 Rogers Naaman 172 How lythe and cheerfull would the soule be in going to Zoar out of Sodome. 1664 Spelman Gloss. s.v. Ledo, lenis (nobis hodie, Lithe). 1844 Thom Rhymes of a Weaver 72 They miss the lythe licht o' their May. 1878 ― Jock o' Knowe 56 (E.D.D.) Lithe Time stole away. |
† b. Of weather: Calm, serene. [Cf. OE. L{iacu}ða, June and July.] Of water: Smooth, still. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 7242 Þæt weder wes swiðe liðe. Ibid. 24198 Þa..þat gras was riue and þat water wes liðe. a 1300 E.E. Psalter cvi. 29 His stremes leften lithe. 13.. Coer de L. 4859 The wynd gan wexe lythe. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 1056 To the see they went fulle yare And passyd the watur lythe. c 1460 Emare 348 The wedur was lythe of le. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. II. Hist. Scot. 203/2 It prooved as lithe a daie, without appearance of anie tempest to insue. |
c. Comfortable, genial, sheltered, warm. Sc.
| c 1430 Syr Tryam. 417 Sche toke up hur sone to hur And lapped hyt fulle lythe. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 276 Syn in a bed thai brocht him fair and lyth. a 1774 Fergusson Wks. (1807) 262 Like thee they scour frae street or field, And hap them in a lyther bield. 1867 G. W. Donald Poems (1879) 66 Licht an' lythe wes Peggie's bosom. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xi. (1873) 66 They're fine lythe parks, an' ear' tee; beasts mith live o' them throu' the winter naar. 1884 D. Grant Lays & Leg. North 274 Winter drives them o'er the sea To seek the lyther land. |
3. Easily bent; flexible, limber, pliant, supple. (The current sense, the only one in Johnson.)
| c 1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 6 Of bodies stronge & liȝth. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 74 His dewelap as lythe, as lasse of Kent. 1599 Withals' Dict. 109 b, The bills of birds we see full oft, Whiles they bee yong are lith and soft. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 347 Th' unwieldy Elephant..wreath'd His Lithe Proboscis. 1667 R. Norwood in Phil. Trans. II. 567 To the Harping-Iron is made fast a strong lythe rope. 1814 Cary Dante, Par. xxvi. 85 Like the leaf, That bows its lithe top till the blast is blown. 1833 Tennyson Poems 36 As lithe eels over meadows gray Oft shift their glimmering pool by night. 1856 Bryant Poems, Hymn to Death 37 The perjurer, Whose tongue was lithe, e'en now, and voluble Against his neighbour's life. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxi. 106 He more lithe than a vine amid Trees. |
4. Of broth, soup, etc.: Smooth, thick. dial.
| a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1669) 259 Stir it up quick with your hands, like a lith pudding. 1805 J. Stagg Misc. Poems (1808) 56 Bit swoaps o' drink an' guod lythe keale. |
5. Comb.
| 1791 Cowper Iliad xv. 839 Or swans lithe-necked grazing the river's verge. 1897 Daily News 26 May 9 There are sixteen of them..tall, lithe-looking sun-burnt figures. |
▪ V. † lithe, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 l{iacu}ðan, 3 liðen, Orm. liþenn. pa. tense 1 láð, 3 læð, lað, pl. liðe(n; also in weak form lið(e)de. pa. pple. 3 iliðe(n.
[OE. l{iacu}ðan, láð, liden = OS. l{iacu}ðan, OHG. l{iacu}dan carry (MHG. lîden), ON. l{iacu}ða to travel (Sw. lida, Da. lide), Goth. (af-, ga-, us-)leiþan to go, f. Teut. root *lī̆þ- (:*lāđ-, see load n.).]
intr. To go, pass; in OE. esp. to go by sea, to sail.
| Beowulf 221 Ða liðende land ᵹesawon. c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xiv. [xix.] (1890) 218 Þa forlet he þa mæᵹðe & ofer sæ lað in Gallia rice. c 1200 Ormin 8434 Inntill whillc ende off all þatt land He badd himm þanne liþenn. c 1205–75 Lay. [passim: see Glossary]. |
Hence † ˈlithing ppl. a., of a ship, sailing.
| c 1205 Lay. 943 Alle þa liðinde scipen Þe on his londe beoð. |
▪ VI. † lithe, v.2 Obs.
Forms: 1 l{iacu}þan, l{iacu}þian, 3 liðen, 4–7 lythe, 3– lithe.
[OE. l{iacu}ð-an, weak vb. f. l{iacu}ðe mild, lithe a.]
1. trans. To render ‘lithe’, i.e. gentle or mild; to influence (a person) gently; to relax (fetters); to assuage, mitigate (grief, pain); to relieve, soothe; to render (a limb) supple; to bend, subdue (persons, their passions).
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xvii. 124 Ðis is ðearf ðæt se se þe wunde lacnian wille ᵹeote win on..& eft ele, ðæt se hie liðe & hæle. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 95 Shereðures⁓daies absolucion liðe þe sinne bendes. 13.. K. Alis. 2797 The saut com so thikke and swithe, That no weryng ne myghte heom lithe. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 183 Lome mennes limes weore lyþet þat tyme. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 726 (754) He þat wont here wo was for to lyþe, She mot for-gon. a 1400–50 Alexander 3754 To lithe vs all if þou limpes na louyng þou gettis. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7721 Hir angre she gan ther to lithe. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 173 The haly spreit..be his grace lythis and turnis our hart to God. 1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket vi. 291 England..hath now suppled, lythed, and stretched their throates. 1642 Rogers Naaman 313 Giue me also faith, Lord,..to lythe, to forme, and to accommodate my spirit and members. |
2. To render ‘lithe’ or thick; to thicken (broth, etc.). Also transf.
| 1674 Ray N.C. Words 30 Lithe the pot, i.e. put Oatmeal into it. 1711 W. Storr Bk. Rem. in Yorksh. Arch. Jrnl. VII. 58 Lithe it with bean meal as hot as can be bidden. 1808 Bald Coal-trade of Scot. i. 13 The coalmasters frequently inquired if the sinkers were lything the water, that is, making it of a thick and muddy colour by their operations. 1867 B. Brierley Marlocks iii. 69 The old woman was engaged in ‘lithing’ the broth. |
▪ VII. lithe, v.3 Obs. exc. arch. and dial.
(laɪð)
Forms: 3 liðen, -in, 3–7, 9 lythe, 4, 7 lithen, 4 lythen, 4, 6–7 lith, 4–6 lyth, 3– lithe.
[ON. hl{yacu}ða (MSw. lydha to listen, Sw. lyda, Da. lyde to obey; the Da. lytte to listen, is a different formation), f. hlióð neut., listening, sound, corresp. to Goth. hliuþ listening attention (ἡσυχία), OHG. hliudar, OE. hléoðor sense of hearing, music, f. Teut. root *hleu- to hear: see list n.1]
intr. To hearken, listen. Const. dat., or to, unto (at, till). Also, to hear of (a thing). Occas. quasi-trans. with obj. a thing.
| a 1225 Juliana 73 Lvsteð me leoue men & liðeð ane hwile. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2077 Quað ðis bred-wriȝte, ‘liðeð nu me’. c 1300 Havelok 1400 Liþes nou alle to me, Louerdinges. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1719 Thenne was hit lif vpon list to lyþen þe houndez. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 67 How þe gamen ȝede lithe I salle ȝow seie. c 1330 Amis & Amil. 429 Hir name was cleped Belisaunt, As ye may lithe at me. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xi. 65 To lithen here laies and here loueliche notes. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1810 Theis newe made knyghttez Lythes vn-to the crye. c 1400 Tale of Gamelyn 1 Litheth and lesteneth and herkeneth aright. a 1400–50 Alexander 5023 Þan list him lithe of his lyfe & of his last ende. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 1163 Lufly ledis in land, lythis me til! ? a 1500 Ballad, Adam Bell, etc. i. 17 Now lithe and listen, gentlemen That of mirth loueth to heare! 1500–20 Dunbar Poems l. 1 Now lythis of ane gentill Knycht, Schir Thomas Norray. 1592 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. ix. 228 Lythe and I shall tell them the. 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 132 Thou mun not take petition (lithen me) Nor entertaine him, till thou take thy fee. 1683 G. Meriton Yorksh. Dial. 4 Lythe yee, Lythe yee! How fondley you tawke. 1807 Stagg Poems 20 Monny a sleepless night she past,..As she lythe'd the lengthnin' blast. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Witches' Frolic, One tale I remember of mickle dread, Now lithe and listen, my little boy Ned. |
▪ VIII. lithe
variant of lythe, the pollack.
▪ IX. lithe
obs. 3rd sing. ind. pres. of lie v.1 and v.2