lathe (lāth) n. A machine for shaping a piece of material, such as wood or metal, by rotating it rapidly along its axis while pressing a fixed cutting or abrading tool against it. tr.v.
lathed, lath·ing, lathes To cut or shape on a lathe.
[Middle English, a device used by coopers, perhaps a turning lathe, probably of Scandinavian origin.]
"machine for turning," 1310, probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Dan. drejelad "turning-lathe," O.N. hlaða "pile of shavings under a lathe," related to hlaða "to load, lade.")