▪ I. ‖ lat1
(lɑːt)
[Hindī lāṭ, lāṭh.]
a. A staff, pole (rare in Eng. use). b. Antiq. ‘An obelisk or columnar monument; specifically used for the ancient Buddhist columns of Eastern India’ (Yule).
| 1800 Asiatic Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 313/2 A high pillar of stone called Bheem-lat, or the Tealee, or oilman's lat or staff. 1876 J. Fergusson Hist. Ind. & East. Archit. i. ii. 52 The oldest authentic examples of these lâts that we are acquainted with are those which King Asoka set up. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 18 Aug. 2/1 A bamboo lat descended on his skull. |
▪ II. lat2
[f. the first syllable of Latvija Latvia.]
A unit of gold currency established by the state of Latvia in August 1922, with a par value of about 25 to the pound sterling, and discontinued in 1941.
| 1923 Glasgow Herald 23 June 10 The last Budget year was closed with a surplus of over 18,000,000 lats gold. 1928 Daily Express 29 Aug. 2/5 The Latvian Ministry of Finance has decided to place an order for five-lat silver pieces..with the Royal Mint, London. 1942 Statesman's Year-Bk. 1261 Latvia... The U.S.S.R. authorities abolished the lat currency on April 10, 1941. |
▪ III. lat3
(Usu. in pl. lats.) Slang abbrev. of latrine.
| 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 92 At Salisbury Plain and Camberley in 1909/10 I learnt a number of camping expressions like..lats (latrines). 1940 M. Marples Public School Slang 112 Other synonyms [for lavatories] are rears, lats..and dubs. 1957 J. I. M. Stewart Use of Riches i. ii. 25 Turk says that conscientious objectors have to clean out the lats in lunatic asylums. |
▪ IV. lat, n.4 slang (orig. Body-building).
(læt)
[Abbrev.]
= *latissimus dorsi n. Freq. in pl. Also attrib., esp. in lat spread, a body-building pose in which the latissimus dorsi muscles are stretched.
| 1939 Health & Strength 12 Aug. 234/2 ‘What is the meaning of the expression {oqq}contract the Lats.{cqq} in connection with pose photography?’ It is a slang expression, which would greatly shock the author of Gray's ‘Anatomy’, meaning ‘contract the Latissimus dorsi’. 1949 Ibid. 11 Aug. 10/1 That loose back..completely covers those permanently expanded ‘lats’ and the previously much envied wasp waist. 1956 Muscle Power Mar. 46/1 The reason I put so much stress on lat development is that when you acquire wide and thick lats you have no need to ever attempt to spread them. 1977 Time 24 Jan. 79/1 A small group of dedicated people..have found happiness in the camaraderie of the gyms where they devote themselves to sculpting their lats and pects and stuff to preposterous perfection. 1982 A. Maupin Further Tales of City 66 My lats were great in the hayfork scene. 1986 Flex Feb. 80/2 Make..the space ample enough for each contestant to do a double-biceps or a lat spread without blocking someone else. 1991 Blitz Sept. 85/2 I'll admit that the overall winner had good lats and abs. I am fair, like. |
▪ V. lat
obs. and dial. f. late, lath.
▪ VI. lat
obs. form of let v.