latilla

[ luh-tee-uh; Spanish lah-tee-yah ]

noun

, Chiefly Southwestern U.S.

1. a peeled branch or piece of wood laid between beams of a ceiling or above the vigas for decoration.

Word History and Origins

Origin of latilla¹

First recorded in 1985–90; from Latin American Spanish: literally, “little stick,” from Spanish, diminutive of lata “stick, strip of wood,” from Vulgar Latin latta “lath, stick” (unattested); either latta, deriving from West Germanic lattō “board, slat” (unattested), or both latta and lattō deriving from the same unknown source + -illa feminine diminutive noun suffix

Example Sentences

La Pastorella al Soglio (composer not named, probably Latilla), and two ballets.

From Project Gutenberg