lither

lither
\\ˈlithə(r)\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, bad, wicked, wretched, lazy, from Old English lȳthre bad, wicked, wretched; akin to Old English loddere beggar, Middle Low German lüder dissolute person, lodder shiftless person, Old High German lottar insignificant, empty, MHGliederlich slight, insignificant, Old Irish lott whore
1. now dialect England : disinclined to exertion : slothful, lazy
2. now dialect England
a. : easily displaced : yielding

winged through the lither sky — Shakespeare

b. : supple and active : agile

boys … are made that lither — Maxwell Gray


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lither — Li ther (l[imac] [th][ e]r), a. [AS. l[=y][eth]er bad, wicked.] Bad; wicked; false; worthless; slothful. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Not lither in business, fervent in spirit. Bp. Woolton. [1913 Webster] Note: Professor Skeat thinks the lither …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lither — v. n. == do harm. Ps. civ. 15. See luther == act wickedly. Ps. xxxvi. 9 …   Oldest English Words

  • lither — laɪð adj. flexible, limber …   English contemporary dictionary

  • lither — lith·er …   English syllables

  • lither —  lazy, idle, slothful. N …   A glossary of provincial and local words used in England

  • Litherly — Lither Li ther (l[imac] [th][ e]r), a. [AS. l[=y][eth]er bad, wicked.] Bad; wicked; false; worthless; slothful. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Not lither in business, fervent in spirit. Bp. Woolton. [1913 Webster] Note: Professor Skeat thinks the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Litherness — Lither Li ther (l[imac] [th][ e]r), a. [AS. l[=y][eth]er bad, wicked.] Bad; wicked; false; worthless; slothful. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Not lither in business, fervent in spirit. Bp. Woolton. [1913 Webster] Note: Professor Skeat thinks the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Leather Lane —    North out of Holborn at No.128 (P.O. Directory). The extreme south western corner only is in Farringdon Ward Without, the street lying in the borough of Holborn.    First mention: Lither lane (S. 374).    Earlier and later forms, etc.:… …   Dictionary of London

  • litherness — noun ( es) Etymology: Middle English lithernesse wickedness, laziness, from lither + nesse ness now dialect England : the quality or state of being lither : laziness …   Useful english dictionary

  • blither — lither v. same as {blather}. Syn: babble, blather, smatter, blether. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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