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Added 9 October 2026

latch

/læt͡ʃ/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about latch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Spring-loaded doorlock that can only be opened from the outside with a key.
Catch for fastening a door or gate; a bar that can be lowered or slid into a groove.

verb

Fasten with a latch.
latch the door

Origin

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”).

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

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