“beLithe,” An Exercise in Linguistics

11/16/2018 | Chris Daily |

Ok, I get it. Our company name, beLithe, is confusing.

It seems like I get asked at least twice per day either how to say it or what it means. 

So, let’s take the easy part first. The name, beLithe, is simply a mashup of two words: “be” & “lithe.” 

In case you need a refresher:

Definition of lithe 

1: easily bent or flexed: lithe steel, a lithe vine

2: characterized by easy flexibility and grace

In 2015, Tana and I were trying to figure out what to call our side gig, providing reduced-cost/free Scrum training for college students.

Most of the firms in the Agile space had the term “Agile” in it. Tana came up with the concept that we could be different by using a synonym and then found the term “lithe”.

So, the concept of wanting to “be Agile” became beLithe.

Be flexible. Be lean. Be Agile.

An incredibly fun aspect of our mission is that Agile methodologies can be applied within any industry, by anyone, both personally and professionally. We meet individuals on their journey. Whether someone is curious and wants to discover Agile for the first time, we’ll satiate that curiosity. For teams working on projects that are at risk and need help, we provide actionable guidance to reach a new, more effective, level of Agility.

Back to the name: I’m not a linguist, but when I say the company name, I treat the letter I in “lithe” as a long I. 

As the head of #slinkythink, deciding how we pronounce our business name is one of the many perks of small business ownership.

Pronounce it how you like, but you heard it from me first. Let’s hope this prevents a GIF-esque controversy down the road.

Let’s connect. 
Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | www.beLithe.com