latch
[lach]
- a device for holding a door, gate, or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.
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- to close or fasten with a latch.
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- to close tightly so that the latch is secured: The door won't latch.
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- latch on,
- to grab or hold on, as to an object or idea, especially tightly or tenaciously.
- to include or add in; attach: If we latch the tax on, the bill will come to over $100.
- latch onto, Informal.
- to take possession of; obtain; get.
- to acquire understanding of; comprehend.
- to attach oneself to; join in with: The stray dog latched onto the children and wouldn't go home.
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Origin of latch
before 950; 1930–35 for def 5; Middle English lacchen, Old English lǣccan to take hold of, catch, seize; akin to Greek lázesthai to take
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for latches
Contemporary Examples
Message discipline: When he latches on to a topic, he is unstoppable, but he sometimes wanders too far.
Historical Examples
They opened inwards, and were fastened by means of bolts and latches.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2)Georges Perrot
The latches are hand wrought, or at least one of the early fabrications.
HuntleyTony P. Wrenn
Except in the Amrs palaces there are no latches to the doors such as we have.
At the Court of the AmrJohn Alfred Gray
There were latches and bolts for doors and locks for chests, drawers, and cabinets.
The Old Furniture BookN. Hudson Moore
Any of the numerous styles of latches can be used, if desired.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2Various
latch
- a fastening for a gate or door that consists of a bar that may be slid or lowered into a groove, hole, etc
- a spring-loaded door lock that can be opened by a key from outside
- Also called: latch circuit electronics a logic circuit that transfers the input states to the output states when signalled, the output thereafter remaining insensitive to changes in input status until signalled again
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- to fasten, fit, or be fitted with or as if with a latch
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Word Origin
Old English læccan to seize, of Germanic origin; related to Greek lazesthai
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for latches
latch
v.
Old English læccan "to grasp or seize," from Proto-Germanic *lakkijanan. Not found in other Germanic languages; probably from PIE *(s)lagw- "to seize" (see analemma). In its original sense the verb was paralleled in Middle English and then replaced by French import catch (v.). Meaning "to fasten with a latch" is mid-15c. Related: Latched; latching.
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latch
n.
a fastening for a door, etc., late 13c., probably from latch (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper