lith

noun — 6 senses

lith

noun

UK /lɪθ/

Etymology From Middle English lith, lyth, from Old English liþ (“limb, member, joint, tip of finger, point”), from Proto-Germanic *liþuz (“limb”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots lith (“part of the body, joint”), West Frisian lid (“part of the body, member”), Dutch lid (“limb, member, section”), Middle High German lit (“limb, member”), Swedish led (“joint, link, channel”), Icelandic liður (“item”), Dutch lid (“part of the body; member”) and gelid (“joint, rank, file”), German Glied (“limb, member, link”).

1

UK, Dialectal A limb; any member of the body.

2

UK, Dialectal A joint; a segment or symmetrical part or division.

  • lith and limb;  out of lith
  • he departed with the lady / & brouȝt her to Camelot / Soo as they rode in a valey it was ful of stones / and there the ladyes hors stumbled and threwe her doun that her arme was sore brysed and nere she swouned for payne / Allas syr sayd the lady myn arme is oute of lythe wher thorow I must nedes reste me1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book III:
3

Scotland A segment of an orange, or similar fruit.

Derived terms
lithy

lith

noun

Etymology From Middle English lith, lyth (“owndom”), from Old Norse lýðr (“people, lede”), from Proto-Germanic *liudiz (“men, people”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“man, people”). Cognate with Dutch lieden and lui, German Leute (“people”), Old English lēode (“people”). More at lede.

1

Property.

lith

noun

Etymology From Middle English *lith, from Old Norse hlið (“a gap, gate, space”), from Proto-Germanic *hlidą (“door, lid, eyelid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to conceal, hide”). Cognate with dialectal Norwegian lid, led (“an opening in a fence”), Scots lith (“a gap in a fence, gate opening”), Old English hlid (“lid, covering, door, gate, opening”). More at lid.

1

UK, Dialectal A gate; a gap in a fence.

lith

noun

Etymology By shortening.

1

Sciences Informal coccolith

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.