latch

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: lăch, IPA(key): /læt͡ʃ/ Rhymes: -ætʃ === Etymology 1 === From Middle English lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”, verb), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, *lakwijaną, *lakkijaną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂g-, *(s)leh₂gʷ- (“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 or (obsolete) laught) To close or lock as if with a latch. (transitive) To catch; lay hold of. (databases) To use a latch (kind of lightweight lock). (of a breastfeeding baby) To connect to the breast. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English latche, lacche (“a latch; a trap”), from lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”). See above for more. ==== Noun ==== latch (plural latches) 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. (electronics) An electronic circuit that is like a flip-flop, except that it is level triggered instead of edge triggered. (obsolete) A latching. (obsolete) A crossbow. (obsolete) That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare. A breastfeeding baby's connection to the breast. (databases) A lightweight lock to protect internal structures from being modified by multiple concurrent accesses. ===== Alternative forms ===== lech, letch ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Compare French lécher (“to lick”). ==== Verb ==== latch (third-person singular simple present latches, present participle latching, simple past and past participle latched) (obsolete) To smear; to anoint.