lythe

lythe is the obsolete spelling of lithe.

Meaning of lithe

lithe (comparative lither, superlative lithest)

(obsolete) Mild; calm.
- lithe weather
Synonyms:

clement, gentle, mellow
Slim but not skinny.
- lithe body
Synonyms:

lithesome, lissome, swack, gaunt, gracile, lank, lean, leansome, rangy, sleek
Capable of being easily bent; flexible.
- the elephant’s lithe trunk.
Synonyms:

pliant, flexible, limber, bain, bendable, bendsome, bendy, flexile
Adaptable.
- Yet the 2016 Éxilé rosé from Lise et Bertrand Jousset in the Loire Valley, made mostly of gamay, was yeasty let^([sic – meaning yet]) light and lithe, while the 2016 Indigeno from Ancarani in Emilia-Romagna, made of trebbiano, was taut and earthy.2018 March 8, Eric Asimov, “Bubbles, With Joy: Pétillant Naturel’s Triumphant Return”, in The New York Times

lythe (plural lythes)

(Northern England, Scotland) A fish, the European pollock (Pollachius pollachius).
- We caught between us about twenty pounds of cod and lythe1915, John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Chapter 10

Lythe

A village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, previously in Scarborough district (OS grid ref NZ8413).
A surname.

What does lythe mean?: Lythe means a fish, the European pollock (Pollachius pollachius).
What is lythe the obsolete spelling of?: Lythe is the obsolete spelling of lithe.
What part of speech is lythe?: Lythe can be a noun or a proper noun.
What is the plural of lythe?: The plural of lythe is lythes.

Adapted from Wiktionary: lythe (page history and authors); Lythe (page history and authors); lithe (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “lythe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lythe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.