lathe

[leyth]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lathe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a machine for use in working wood, metal, etc., that holds the material and rotates it about a horizontal axis against a tool that shapes it.

verb (used with object), lathed, lath·ing.

to cut, shape, or otherwise treat on a lathe.

Origin of lathe

1300–50; Middle English: frame, stand, lathe; compare Old Norse hlath stack (see lade), Danish -lad in væverlad weaver's batten, savelad saw bench

Can be confusedlath lathe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lathe

spire, steeple, minaret, belfry, lathe, drill, mill, saw, borer, grinder, shaper

Examples from the Web for lathe

Contemporary Examples of lathe

Creative writing in Room 205 hones my literary skills like a lathe.
My Teacher Who Brought Magic to Room 205
Susan Jane Gilman
July 20, 2009
On the opposite side of the alley, sparks leap out of a lathe machine as a young man wearing protective goggles sharpens metal.
Shooting Slumdog on the Gritty Streets of Mumbai
Amitava Kumar
November 24, 2008

Historical Examples of lathe

A full complement of men worked at every lathe, table, drill or saw.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
The lathe painted to look like iron is seen to be but a lathe.
The Moon and Sixpence
W. Somerset Maugham
A lathe tool, if merely hardened, would be useless for that purpose.
Practical Mechanics for Boys
J. S. Zerbe
The arc of the curved end depends on the kind of lathe and the size of the work.
Practical Mechanics for Boys
J. S. Zerbe
The lathe is run as for turning brass of the same diameter as the tool.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall

British Dictionary definitions for lathe

lathe

noun

a machine for shaping, boring, facing, or cutting a screw thread in metal, wood, etc, in which the workpiece is turned about a horizontal axis against a fixed tool

verb

(tr) to shape, bore, or cut a screw thread in or on (a workpiece) on a lathe

Word Origin for lathe

perhaps C15 lath a support, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Danish lad lathe, Old English hlæd heap

lathe

noun

British history any of the former administrative divisions of Kent

Word Origin for lathe

Old English læth district

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lathe

"machine for turning," early 14c., of uncertain origin, probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Danish drejelad "turning-lathe," Old Norse hlaða "pile of shavings under a lathe," related to hlaða "to load, lade").