latilla

American  

[luh-tee-uh, lah-tee-yah] / ləˈti ə, lɑˈti yɑ /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of latilla

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