Meaning

noun machine tool for shaping metal or wood; the workpiece turns about a horizontal axis against a fixed tool

originFrom Middle English lathe (“turning-lathe; stand”), from Old Norse hlað (“pile, heap”)—compare dialectal Danish lad (“stand, support frame”) (as in drejelad (“turning-lathe”), savelad (“saw bench”)), dialectal Norwegian la, lad (“pile, small wall”), dialectal Swedish lad (“folding table, lay of a loom”)—from hlaða (“to load”). More at lade.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0