*lath*

[ After Thomas Blanchard, American inventor. ] (Mach.) A kind of wood-turning lathe for making noncircular and irregular forms, as felloes, gun stocks, lasts, spokes, etc., after a given pattern. The pattern and work rotate on parallel spindles in the same direction with the same speed, and the work is shaped by a rapidly rotating cutter whose position is varied by the pattern acting as a cam upon a follower wheel traversing slowly along the pattern. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. i. & t. [ imp. & p. p. Blathered p. pr. & vb. n. Blathering. ] [ Written also blether. ] [ Icel. blaðra. Cf. Blatherskite. ] To talk foolishly, or nonsensically, or concerning matters of no consequence. G. Eliot.
Syn. -- babble, smatter, blether, blither. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Written also blether. ] Voluble, foolish, or nonsensical talk; -- often in the pl. Hall Caine. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A blustering, talkative fellow. [ Local slang, U. S. ] Barllett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a noisy boisterous parade.
Syn. -- callithump, callithump parade. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a noisy mock serenade (made by banging pans and kettles) to a newly married couple.
Syn. -- shivaree, chivaree, charivari, callithump. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a antural family of fleshy stinkhornlike fungi.
Syn. -- family Clathraceae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. clathri lattice, Gr. klh, qra. ] 1. (Bot.) Shaped like a lattice; cancellate. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Having the surface marked with raised lines resembling a lattice, as many shells. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the type genus of the Clathraceae.
Syn. -- genus Clathrus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Building) (a) A batten laid lengthwise between two rafters to afford a bearing for laths laid crosswise. (b) Any lath laid without actual measurement between two gauged laths. (c) Any of a series of laths nailed to the timbers to raise the sheet lathing above their surface to afford a key for plastering. (d) One of many laths used in preparing one side of a partition or framed wall, when the other side has been covered in and finished. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Characterized by flatness of head, especially that produced by artificial means, as a certain tribe of American Indians. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Ethnol.) A Chinook Indian. See Chinook, n., 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Laths [ OE. laththe, latthe, latte, AS. lætta; akin to D. lat, G. latte, OHG. latta; cf. W. llath a rod, staff, yard. Cf. Lattice, Latten. ] A thin, narrow strip of wood, nailed to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting the tiles, plastering, etc. A corrugated metallic strip or plate is sometimes used. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lath brick, a long, slender brick, used in making the floor on which malt is placed in the drying kiln.
Lath nail a slender nail for fastening laths. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lathed p. pr. & vb. n. Lathing. ] To cover or line with laths. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. l&aemacr_;ð. Of uncertain origin. ] Formerly, a part or division of a county among the Anglo-Saxons. At present it consists of four or five hundreds, and is confined to the county of Kent. [ Written also lath. ] Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lathe a granary; akin to G. lade a chest, Icel. hlaða a storehouse, barn; but cf. also Icel. löð a smith's lathe. Senses 2 and 3 are perh. of the same origin as lathe a granary, the original meaning being, a frame to hold something. If so, the word is from an older form of E. lade to load. See Lade to load. ] 1. A granary; a barn. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mach.) A machine for turning, that is, for shaping articles of wood, metal, or other material, by causing them to revolve while acted upon by a cutting tool. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; -- called also lay and batten. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blanchard lathe, a lathe for turning irregular forms after a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like. --
Drill lathe, or
Speed lathe, a small lathe which, from its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe. --
Engine lathe, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc. --
Foot lathe, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot. --
Geometric lathe. See under Geometric --
Hand lathe, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe without an automatic feed for the tool. --
Slide lathe, an engine lathe. --
Throw lathe, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the cutting tool is held in the other. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a heavy stick (often bamboo) bound with iron; used by police in India.
Syn. -- lathi. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lathered p. pr. & vb. n. Lathering. ] [ AS. lēðrian to lather, anoint. See Lather, n. ] To spread over with lather; as, to lather the face. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. leáðor niter, in leáðorwyrt soapwort; cf. Icel. lauðr; perh. akin to E. lye. ] 1. Foam or froth made by soap moistened with water. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To form lather, or a froth like lather; to accumulate foam from profuse sweating, as a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Leather. ] To beat severely with a thong, strap, or the like; to flog. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of covering with laths. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Laths, collectively; a covering of laths. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. Formerly, the head officer of a lathe. See 1st Lathe. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a slender elongated form, like a lath; -- said of the feldspar of certain igneous rocks, as diabase, as seen in microscopic sections. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Lathing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Like a lath; long and slender. [ 1913 Webster ]

A lathy horse, all legs and length. R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Coined from Gr. fi`los loving + 'alh`qeia truth. ] An international, interdenominational organization of Bible classes of young women. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) A member of the Platyhelminthes. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. ] (Zool.) Same as Platyelminthes; -- an older term. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]