Skip to the word

Added 5 October 2026

lash

/læʃ/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lash at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given.
A leash in which an animal is caught or held; hence, a snare.
A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough, often given as a punishment.
The culprit received thirty-nine lashes.

verb

To strike with a lash; to whip or scourge with a lash, or with something like one.
To strike forcibly and quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash.
Heavy seas lashed the shore.
To throw out with a jerk or quickly.

verb

To bind with a rope, cord, thong, or chain, so as to fasten.
to lash something to a spar

adjective

Origin

From Middle English lashe, lasshe, lasche (“a stroke; the flexible end of a whip”), from Proto-Germanic *laskô (“flap of fabric, strap”). Cognate with Dutch lasch, las (“a piece; seal; joint; notch; seam”), German Low German Laske, Lask (“a flap; dag; strap”), German Lasche (“a flap; joint; strap; tongue; scarf”), Swedish lask (“scarf”), Icelandic laski (“the bottom part of a glove”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word