Wordul · all words

noun · 1 syllable · /leɪð/

LATHE

What does "LATHE" mean?

A machine that spins a workpiece against a cutting tool to shape it symmetrically.

Meanings

  1. A machine tool that rotates wood, metal, or other material so a blade can carve it into a rounded form. He turned the chair leg on a lathe until it was perfectly smooth.
  2. To shape a material using such a machine. The apprentice lathed a set of identical wooden bowls. technical

Did you know?

  • Around 1800, Henry Maudslay built a screw-cutting lathe so precise it could mass-produce identical threaded screws - the unglamorous breakthrough that made interchangeable machine parts possible.

Word origin

From Middle English 'lath', likely of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Danish 'lad' meaning a supporting frame or stand.

Remember it

LATHE = 'late' + H: the H is the spinning wood; without it you're just 'late' (and missing the silent-E twist).

A little poem

The blank wood whirls round-
a steel tooth leans, and shavings
curl off into form.

haiku

Wordplay

  • The woodturner's autobiography was a real page-turner - every chapter came off the lathe.

What it teaches

Symmetry is not stillness: a thing becomes round only by spinning fast and giving up its edges.

Quick facts

What does LATHE mean?

A machine that spins a workpiece against a cutting tool to shape it symmetrically.

Is LATHE a valid word?

Yes — LATHE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is LATHE?

LATHE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does LATHE come from?

From Middle English 'lath', likely of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Danish 'lad' meaning a supporting frame or stand.

What can LATHE teach us?

Symmetry is not stillness: a thing becomes round only by spinning fast and giving up its edges.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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