lath
/lɑːθ/noun, verb
lath is spelled L-A-T-H: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lath means “A thin, narrow strip, fastened to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting a covering of tiles, plastering, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lath is laths.
How many letters and syllables are in lath?
| Letters | 4: L-A-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 79,518th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lath?
Lath appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lath?
- /lɑːθ/
- /læθ/
Lath has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lath.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lath
Also written: lat.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lath?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lath.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: halt.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lath
- laths plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lat
- latt
- lathing participle, present
- lathed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lath mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thin, narrow strip, fastened to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting a covering of tiles, plastering, etc.
- 2
Microscopic, needle-like crystals, usually of plagioclase feldspar, in a glassy groundmass
- 3
One of the sharp-edged, thick planks driven forward to hold back loose earth or mud when digging the way through for tunnelling or spiling. Also called a spill.
- 4
Alternative form of lat (“staff; monumental pillar”).
verb
- 1
To cover or line with laths.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lath in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a thin, narrow strip, fastened to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a buildi:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lath come from?
From Middle English laththe, laþþe, earlier lathe, laþe, altered from Old English lætt (“lath”), from Proto-West Germanic *lattu, from Proto-Germanic *laþô (compare Dutch lat, German Latte) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lat- (compare Welsh llath (“rod, wand, yard”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).