LATH

noun (plural ~s or ~) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English *læthth-; akin to Old High German latta ~, Welsh l~ yard Date: 13th century a thin narrow strip of wood nailed to rafters, joists, or studding as a groundwork for slates, tiles, or plaster, a building material in sheets used as a base for plaster, a quantity of ~s, ~ transitive verb