# lathe

> English word · Verb · IPA /leɪð/ · frequency rank #32,475

## Definitions
1. To invite; bid; ask.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **lite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-lite)
- **lute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-lute)
- **Latin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-latin)
- **litre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-litre)
- **latte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-latte)
- **Laude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-laude)
- **lotte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-lotte)
- **Latif** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-latif)
- **loath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-loath)
- **Layne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-layne)
- **latter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-latter)
- **Luther** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-luther)
- **loathe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-loathe)
- **lather** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-lather)
- **leather** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-leather)
- **loathed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lathe-vs-loathed)
- **LAT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lat-vs-lathe)
- **lah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lah-vs-lathe)
- **late** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/late-vs-lathe)
- **lake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lake-vs-lathe)

## Common misspellings (7)
`althe`, `lahte`, `lateh`, `lathhe`, `latthe`, `llathe`, `ltahe`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lathe