*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lathe

From Middle English lathen, from Old English laþian (“to invite, summon, call upon, ask”), from Proto-West Germanic *laþōn, from Proto-Germanic *laþōną (“to invite”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to want, desire”). C

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To invite; bid; ask.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English lathen, from Old English laþian (“to invite, summon, call upon, ask”), from Proto-West Germanic *laþōn, from Proto-Germanic *laþōną (“to invite”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to want, desire”). Cognate with German laden (“to invite”), Icelandic laða (“to attract”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lathen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lathen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "laþian",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to invite, summon, call upon, ask"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English laþian (“to invite, summon, call upon, ask”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*laþōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *laþōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*laþōną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to invite"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *laþōną (“to invite”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*lēy-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to want, desire"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to want, desire”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "laden",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to invite"
      },
      "expansion": "German laden (“to invite”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "laða",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to attract"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic laða (“to attract”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lathen",
      "lathen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "laþian",
      "laþian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*laþōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/laþōn"
    ],
    [
      "*laþōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/laþōną"
    ],
    [
      "*lēy-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lēy-"
    ],
    [
      "laden",
      "laden#German"
    ],
    [
      "laða",
      "laða#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To invite; bid; ask."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

An administrative division of the county of Kent, in England, from the Anglo-Saxon period until it fell entirely out of use in the early twentieth century.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English *lath, leth, from Old English lǣþ (“a division of a county containing several hundreds, a district, lathe”), from Proto-West Germanic *lāþ.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mention*lathenm
  • Inherited-form mentionlǣþang · a division of a county containing several hundreds, a district, lathe
  • Inherited-form mention*lāþgmw-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*lath"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *lath"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "lǣþ",
        "t": "a division of a county containing several hundreds, a district, lathe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English lǣþ (“a division of a county containing several hundreds, a district, lathe”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*lāþ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *lāþ"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*lath",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/lath"
    ],
    [
      "leth",
      "leth#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "lǣþ",
      "læþ#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*lāþ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/lāþ"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An administrative division of the county of Kent, in England, from the Anglo-Saxon period until it fell entirely out of use in the early twentieth century."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A machine tool used to shape a piece of material, or workpiece, by rotating the workpiece against a cutting tool. · The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft. · A granary; a barn.

verb

To shape with a lathe. · To produce a three-dimensional model by rotating a set of points around a fixed axis.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English lathe (“turning-lathe; stand”), from Old Norse hlað (“pile, heap”)—compare dialectal Danish lad (“stand, support frame”) (as in drejelad (“turning-lathe”), savelad (“saw bench”)), dialectal Norwegian la, lad (“pile, small wall”), dialectal Swedish lad (“folding table, lay of a loom”)—from hlaða (“to load”). More at lade.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionlatheenm
  • Derivation mentionhlaðnon
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lathe",
        "4": "",
        "5": "turning-lathe; stand"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lathe (“turning-lathe; stand”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "hlað",
        "4": "",
        "5": "pile, heap"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse hlað (“pile, heap”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lathe",
      "lathe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hlað",
      "hlað#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "lad",
      "lad#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "drejelad",
      "drejelad#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "savelad",
      "savelad#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "la",
      "la#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "lad",
      "lad#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "lad",
      "lad#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "hlaða",
      "hlaða#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "lade",
      "lade#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A machine tool used to shape a piece of material, or workpiece, by rotating the workpiece against a cutting tool.",
        "The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft.",
        "A granary; a barn."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "To shape with a lathe.",
        "To produce a three-dimensional model by rotating a set of points around a fixed axis."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for lathe →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bGF0aGU