latch

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See also: LATCH

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: lăch, IPA(key): /læt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ætʃ

Etymology 1

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From Middle English lacchen (to seize, catch, grasp, verb), from Old English læċċan (to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, *lakwijaną, *lakkijaną (to seize), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂g-, *(s)leh₂gʷ- (to take, seize). Cognate with Middle Dutch lakken (to grasp, catch).

Verb

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latch (third-person singular simple present latches, present participle latching, simple past and past participle latched or (obsolete) laught)

  1. To close or lock as if with a latch.
  2. (transitive) To catch; lay hold of.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English latche, lacche (a latch; a trap), from lacchen (to seize, catch, grasp), from Old English læċċan (to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize). See above for more.

Noun

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latch (plural latches)

A latch
  1. A fastening for a door that has a bar that fits into a notch or slot, and is lifted by a lever or string from either side.
  2. (electronics) An electronic circuit that is like a flip-flop, except that it is level triggered instead of edge triggered.
  3. (obsolete) A latching.
  4. (obsolete) A crossbow.
  5. (obsolete) That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare.
  6. A breastfeeding baby's connection to the breast.
  7. (databases) A lightweight lock to protect internal structures from being modified by multiple concurrent accesses.
Alternative forms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 3

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Compare French lécher (to lick).

Verb

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latch (third-person singular simple present latches, present participle latching, simple past and past participle latched)

  1. (obsolete) To smear; to anoint.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
      But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes
      With the love-juice , as I did bid thee do?