lath
/lɑːθ/ noun, verb
Forms laths lathing lathed lat latt
- noun A thin, narrow strip, fastened to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting a covering of tiles, plastering, etc.
- noun (geology, petrology) Microscopic, needle-like crystals, usually of plagioclase feldspar, in a glassy groundmass
- noun (mining) One of the sharp-edged, thick planks driven forward to hold back loose earth or mud when digging the way through for tunnelling or spiling. Also called a spill.
- verb (transitive) To cover or line with laths.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English laththe, laþþe, earlier lathe, laþe, altered from Old English lætt (“lath”), from Proto-West Germanic *lattu, from Proto-Germanic *laþô (compare Dutch lat, German Latte) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lat- (compare Welsh llath (“rod, wand, yard”)).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A thin, narrow strip of wood, nailed to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting the tiles, plastering, etc. A corrugated metallic strip or plate is sometimes used. Lath brick, a long, slender brick, used in making the floor on which malt is placed in the drying kiln. Lath nail a slender nail for fastening laths.
- verb To cover or line with laths.
Etymology [OE. laththe, latthe, latte, AS. lætta; akin to D. lat, G. latte, OHG. latta; cf. W. llath a rod, staff, yard. Cf. Lattice, Latten.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “lath”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details