Lissome

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a combination of grace, agility, and slenderness that enhances overall elegance
2. Denoting a physical trait that conveys both flexibility and attractiveness, often in a poised manner
3. Having a slim form that moves with soft ease and supple agility

Etymology: "Lissome" is simply a variant spelling of "lissom," and the two have shared the same meaning and history all along. The adjective is a contraction of "lithesome," formed from "lithe," meaning supple or flexible, with the suffix "-some," which in Old English meant "characterized by" or "tending to," as in "handsome" or "wholesome." The older root, "lithe," goes back to Old English "lithe," meaning gentle or mild, and it originally described a calm, soft disposition before it came to mean a limber body. Over time the word shifted from character to physical movement, so a person who was once called gentle came to be described as bending easily. The contracted form "lissom" appeared later, and the "-some" ending kept the sense of being full of a quality, so "lissome" describes a body that moves with the ease of something loose and pliable.

Synonyms: graceful, flexible, lithe

Antonyms: awkward, stiff