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latch

(lăch)

1. A fastening, as for a door or gate, typically consisting of a bar that fits into a notch or slot and is lifted from either side by a lever or string.

2. A spring lock, as for a door, that is opened from the outside by a key.

v. latched, latch·ing, latch·es

v.tr.

To close or lock with a latch.

v.intr.

1. To have or be closed with a latch.

2. To shut tightly so that the latch is engaged: a door too warped to latch.

Idiom:

latch on to/onto

1. To get hold of; obtain: latched on to a fortune in the fur trade.

2. To cling to.

[Middle English latche, from lacchen, to seize, from Old English læccan.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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