lathe
/leɪð/verb, noun
lathe is spelled L-A-T-H-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, lathe means “To invite; bid; ask” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lathe?
| Letters | 5: L-A-T-H-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 lathe?
Lathe appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd 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 lathe?
- US /leɪð/
Lathe 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-lathe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lathe?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lathe from its last stressed vowel (/eɪð/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: athel.
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 lathe
- lathes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- lathing participle, present
- lathed participle, past
- laith
- lath
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lathe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
UKTo invite; bid; ask.
- 2
To shape with a lathe.
- 3
To produce a three-dimensional model by rotating a set of points around a fixed axis.
noun
- 1
A machine tool used to shape a piece of material, or workpiece, by rotating the workpiece against a cutting tool.
He shaped the bedpost by turning it on a lathe.
- 2
The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft.
- 3
obsoleteA granary; a barn.
- 4
obsoleteAn administrative division of the county of Kent, in England, from the Anglo-Saxon period until it fell entirely out of use in the early twentieth century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lathe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tour , tourner |
| German | Drechselbank, Drehbank, Drehmaschine, Drehstuhl, Holzdrehmaschine , drehen |
| Portuguese | torno , tornear |
| Spanish | torno , tornear, mandrilar |
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 lathe come from?
From Middle English lathen, from Old English laþian (“to invite, summon, call upon, ask”), from Proto-West Germanic *laþōn, from Proto-Germanic *laþōną (“to invite”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to want, desire”). Cognate with German laden (“to invite”), Icelandic laða (“to attract”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).