different between latch vs latah

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: l?ch, IPA^(key): /læt?/
• Rhymes: -æt?

Etymology 1

From Middle English lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”, verb), from Old English læ??an (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjan?, *lakwijan?, *lakkijan? (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh?g-, *(s)leh?g?- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lakken (“to grasp, catch”).

Verb

latch (third-person singular simple present latches, present participle latching, simple past and past participle latched)

1. To close or lock as if with a latch.
2. (transitive) To catch; lay hold of.

Derived terms

• latch on
• latch on to
• latch onto

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English latche, lacche (“a latch; a trap”), from lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”), from Old English læ??an (“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

Alternative forms

• lech, letch

Etymology 3

Compare French lécher (“to lick”).

Verb

latch (third-person singular simple present latches, present participle latching, simple past and past participle latched)

1. (obsolete) To smear; to anoint.

English

Alternative forms

• lata

Etymology

From Malay latah.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l??t?/

Noun

latah (countable and uncountable, plural latahs)

1. (pathology) A condition found in Malaysia and nearby areas characterised by extreme suggestibility; also, a person suffering from this malady.
   • 1959, William Burroughs, Naked Lunch:

     Latah is a condition occurring in Southeast Asia. Otherwise sane, Latahs compulsively imitate every motion once their attention is attracted by snapping the fingers or calling sharply.

   • 1989, Anthony Burgess, The Devil's Mode:

     It seemed to Sir Edwin that this patient, a young man who had never set foot outside England, was suffering from an ailment known as latah – common enough in the Malay archipelago but hitherto unknown, so far as the clinical records – admittedly not very reliable – could advise, in the temperate clime of northern Europe.

   • 2003, Wen-Shing Tseng, Clinician's Guide to Cultural Psychiatry, p. 116:

     Actually, there is a debate among scholars as to whether the latah condition should be regarded as a culture-related "mental disorder" or merely as an "unusual behavior response" found in some cultures.

Anagrams

• Thala

Indonesian

Etymology 1

From Malay latah, from Sanskrit ??? (lat?, “streak, childish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?lat?ah]
• Hyphenation: la?tah

Adjective

latah

1. (psychiatry, psychology) latah: a condition found in Malaysia and nearby areas characterised by extreme suggestibility.
2. acting like a crazy person.
3. behaves in a stereotypically other nation manner as imitation in attitude, deed, or habit.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Unknown. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?lat?ah]
• Hyphenation: la?tah

Noun

latah (first-person possessive latahku, second-person possessive latahmu, third-person possessive latahnya)

1. (archaic) trash under the tree.

Further reading

• “latah” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /latah/
• Rhymes: -atah, -tah, -ah

Noun

latah (Jawi spelling ?????, informal 1st possessive latahku, impolite 2nd possessive latahmu, 3rd possessive latahnya)

1. (pathology) latah (A condition found in Malaysia and nearby areas characterised by extreme suggestibility)

Descendants

• ? English: latah
• Indonesian: latah

Further reading

• “latah” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.