lite

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lite"

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: līt, IPA^(key): /laɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Homophone: light

Etymology 1

Variation of light (in the sense of lacking weight, substance, etc.)

Adjective

lite (not comparable)

1. (usually postpositive) Abridged or lesser; being a simpler or unpaid version of a product.
2. Light in composition, notably low in fat, calories etc. Most commonly used commercially.

   His lite dinner consisted of crackers, some broccoli and a salad with lite ranch dressing.

3. Lightweight
4. Informal spelling of light.

   My favorite color is lite blue!

5. (usually used postpositively) Lacking substance or seriousness; watered down.
   • 2003 March 6, “Reform Lite”, in St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

     this compromise bill is reform lite. It is both more palatable to nursing home owners and less protective of elderly patients

   • 2006, Alfie Kohn, Beyond discipline: from compliance to community, page 42:

     If there is a difference between doing this to a child and engaging in old-fashioned punishment, it is at best a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference. What Dreikurs and his followers are selling is Punishment Lite.

   • 2010 April 8, “Sovereign debt crisis at 'boiling point', warns Bank for International Settlements”, in Telegraph.co.uk:

     The analysis bolsters claims by the Tories that markets will not wait patiently as Britain draws up leisurely plans for austerity-lite

Derived terms

• COM lite
• covenant-lite
• cov-lite
• marriage lite
• rogue-lite

 

Translations

low in calories

• Dutch: licht (nl), light (nl), light- (nl), luchtig (nl)
• Finnish: kevyt (fi)
• French: allégé (fr), light (fr)
• Polish: lekki (pl) m
• Swedish: lätt (sv)

lightweight

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 轻量 (zh) (qīngliàng)

• Dutch: licht (nl), light (nl)
• Finnish: kevyt (fi)
• French: léger (fr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} létt

Noun

lite (plural lites)

1. Archaic form of light (“window or aperture in a building”).
2. (architecture) A window pane

Derived terms

• deadlite

 

Etymology 2

From Middle English lit, lut (“little”), from Old English lȳt.

Noun

lite (uncountable)

1. (British, dialect) A little, bit.

Adjective

lite (comparative liter, superlative litest)

1. (British, dialect) few; little

Etymology 3

From Middle English liten, from Old Norse hlíta (“to rely on, trust, abide by”). Cognate with Icelandic hlíta (“to comply”), Swedish lita (“to trust, rely on, depend on, confide in”), Danish lide (“to trust”).

Verb

lite (third-person singular simple present lites, present participle liting, simple past and past participle lited)

1. (British, dialect) To expect; wait.
2. (British, dialect) To rely.

Noun

lite (plural lites)

1. (British, dialect) The act of waiting; a wait.

Anagrams

• IELT, Tiel, teil, tiel, tile

Dutch

Noun

lite m (plural liten, diminutive litetje n)

1. (history) the (rare) singular of liten

Synonyms

• laat m (cognate)
• lijfeigene m

Anagrams

• liet

French

Verb

lite

1. inflection of liter:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• élit

Irish

Alternative forms

• lighte (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈl̠ʲɪtʲə/

Participle

lite

1. past participle of ligh

Italian

Etymology

From Latin lītem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈli.te/
• Rhymes: -ite
• Hyphenation: lì‧te

Noun

lite f (plural liti)

1. a quarrel, row, altercation, fight

   Synonyms: alterco, contesa, disputa, litigio, litigata, rissa

2. (law) a suit, lawsuit

   Synonyms: contesa, disputa

Related terms

• litigare
• litighio
• litigio

Anagrams

• teli

Ladin

Verb

lite

1. first-person singular present indicative of liter
2. first-person singular present subjunctive of liter
3. third-person singular present subjunctive of liter
4. third-person plural present subjunctive of liter

Latin

Noun

līte

1. ablative singular of līs

Middle English

Noun

lite (plural lites)

1. Alternative form of light

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• smått (of adjective)

Adjective

lite

1. neuter singular of liten

Adverb

lite

1. little

   lite kjent ― little known

References

• “liten” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²liːtə/

Adjective

lite n

1. neuter singular of liten

Adverb

lite (comparative mindre, superlative minst)

1. little

   Me veit lite om djuphava.

   We know little about the deep oceans.

Verb

lite (present tense lit, past tense leit, past participle lite, passive infinitive litast, present participle litande, imperative lit)

1. Alternative form of lita

References

• “lite” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈli.tɛ/
• Rhymes: -itɛ
• Syllabification: li‧te

Adjective

lite

1. inflection of lity:
   1. neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular
   2. nonvirile nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish littiu f (“porridge, gruel”).

Pronunciation

• (Lewis) IPA^(key): /ˈʎiʰtʲ(ə)/
• (Skye) IPA^(key): /ˈʎiçtʲə/

Noun

lite f (genitive singular lite or lit)

1. (chiefly Lewis, Skye) porridge
2. (historical) pottage
3. (historical) posset

Synonyms

• brochan

Derived terms

• ionnsaich do sheanmhair lit' a dhèanamh

Spanish

Verb

lite

1. inflection of litar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Swedish

Alternative forms

• litet (archaic)

Etymology

Contraction of litet, neuter of liten. Compare mycket, with similar formation.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

lite (comparative mindre, superlative minst)

1. little, some; a small amount

   Antonym: mycket

   Det finns lite vatten i flaskan.

   There is a little water in the bottle.

   Jag har lite pengar kvar.

   I've got a little money left.

   Jag skrev lite på hemuppgiften.

   I wrote a little on the homework.

Usage notes

To be used with uncountable nouns.

Related terms

• liten

Adverb

lite (comparative mindre, superlative minst)

1. a little, to a small extent; somewhat

   Jag har lite för lite pengar kvar.

   I've got slightly too little money left.

Further reading

• lite in Svensk ordbok.

Anagrams

• elit