lithenessn.
/ˈlʌɪðnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈlaɪðnᵻs/ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > [noun]
sweetnessc1000
mildnessOE
lithenessc1175
mildshipa1200
softnessa1200
mildheadc1300
softheadc1350
mansuetudec1390
tendresse1390
tendernessa1400
gentleness?c1400
mansuetiea1500
suavitude1512
treatableness1526
placability1531
lenity1548
pleasableness1556
mollity1562
fair1599
lenitude1627
placableness1647
unaggressiveness1870
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 95 Erest he walde us mid liðnesse isteoren.
c1480 (a1400) St. Matthew 445 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 203 Þe clergy..with lythnes [bad] byde goddis wrake.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 458 Thou canst remove that utter unwillingnesse..and cause lythnesse, and complying therewith.
b. Flexibility, suppleness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [noun]
starknessOE
lithenessa1464
mobility1528
leathwakeness1548
stiffness1552
supplement1583
suppleness1603
spring1641
limber1786
lubricity1809
limberness1835
lissomness1857
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 42 Summe men seide þat he [sc. Aristotle] was þe son of swech a spirit whech thei clepe incubus for þe lithnes of his body an the sotilté of his witte.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 239/2 Lythenesse, delyvernesse, souplesse.
1731 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Litheness, suppleness, limberness.
1861 G. Wilson & A. Geikie Mem. E. Forbes xii. 402 The litheness of his body at this time was altogether surprising.
1877 J. S. Blackie Wise Men Greece 20 To sinewy grasp and litheness bred.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1175