latch

See also: LATCH

English

A latch

Pronunciation

• enPR: lăch, IPA^(key): /lætʃ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ætʃ

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”, verb), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, *lakwijaną, *lakkijaną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂g-, *(s)leh₂gʷ- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lakken (“to grasp, catch”).

Verb

1. To close or lock as if with a latch.
2. (transitive) To catch; lay hold of.
   • (Can we date this quote?), William Shakespeare, Macbeth

     Where hearing should not latch them.

Derived terms

• latch on
• latch on to
• latch onto

Translations

to close with a latch

• Finnish: salvata (fi), panna säppiin
• Galician: martabela f, pecho (gl) m
• German: verriegeln (de), einrasten, einklinken, sperren (de), zuschnappen (de), schließen (de), zuklinken
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakarawa

Etymology 2

From Middle English latche, lacche (“a latch; a trap”), from lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”). See above for more.

Noun

latch (plural latches)

1. A fastening for a door that has a bar that fits into a notch or slot, and is lifted by a lever or string from either side.
   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 4

     The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton had made for the door had sprung as Kerchak passed out; nor could the apes find means of ingress through the heavily barred windows.

2. A flip-flop electronic circuit
3. (obsolete) A latching.
4. (obsolete) A crossbow.
5. (obsolete) That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of The Romaunt of the Rose to this entry?)

6. A breastfeeding baby's connection to the breast.
7. (databases) A lightweight lock to protect internal structures from being modified by multiple concurrent accesses.

Derived terms

• on the latch

Translations

fastening for a door

• Albanian: reze (sq), bakllama (sq)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: резе (bg) n (reze), мандало (bg) n (mandalo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 門閂／门闩 (zh) (ménshuān), 门闩 (zh) (ménshuān), 門釦／门扣 (zh) (ménkòu), 门釦 (zh) (ménkòu)

• Dutch: klink (nl) f
• Esperanto: anso
• Finnish: säppi (fi), salpa (fi)
• French: loquet (fr) m
• Galician: pecho (gl) m, caravilla f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Riegel (de) m, Falle (de) f, Klinke (de) f, Sperre (de) f, Verriegelung (de) f, Schnappverschluss m, Schnappriegel m, Anschlag (de) m, Verschluss (de) m, Verschlusshebel m, Schnapper (de) m, Schnäpper m, Rastklinke f, Arretierung f
• Greek: μάνταλος (el) m (mántalos), σύρτης (el) m (sýrtis)
• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: retesz (hu)
• Indonesian: selot (id)
• Italian: chiavistello (it) m, fermo (it) m
• Japanese: 掛け金 (かけがね, kakegane), ラッチ (ratchi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 걸쇠 (geolsoe)
• Maori: whakarawa
• Mongolian: түгжээ (mn) (tügžee), оньс (mn) (onʹs)
• Persian: کلون (fa) (kolun)
• Polish: zatrzask m
• Portuguese: tranca (pt) f, trinco (pt)
• Romanian: zăvor (ro) n, zăvoare n pl
• Russian: щеко́лда (ru) f (ščekólda), задви́жка (ru) f (zadvížka), защёлка (ru) f (zaščólka), (дверно́й) запо́р (ru) m (zapór), засо́в (ru) m (zasóv)
• Serbo-Croatian: zasun (sh), reza (sh), zavoranj (sh) m
• Spanish: cerrojo (es) m, pestillo (es) m
• Swedish: hasp, regel (sv)
• Tagalog: busulan
• Tajik: лукидон (lukidon)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Uzbek: gaʻlaqa, loʻkidon (uz)
• Vietnamese: chốt cửa, then cửa

flip-flop electronic circuit

• Finnish: kiikku (fi)
• German: Klinkenschalter m, Auffangregister n, Signalschalter m
• Greek: μανταλωτής (el) m (mantalotís), μανδαλωτής (el) (mandalotís)
• Polish: przerzutnik m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: flip-flop m
• Swedish: låskrets

latching

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

crossbow

• Dutch: kruisboog (nl)
• Finnish: varsijousi (fi)
• German: Armbrust (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: самострел m (samostrel)
• Polish: kusza (pl) f
• Serbo-Croatian: samostrel m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} picaporte (es)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• (deprecated template usage) Telugu: గడియ (gaDiya)

Alternative forms

• lech, letch

Etymology 3

Compare French lécher (“to lick”).

Verb

1. (obsolete) To smear; to anoint.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)