A lathe (/ˈleɪð/; Old English: lǽð; Latin: lestus) formed an administrative country subdivision of the county of Kent, England, from the Anglo-Saxon period, until it fell out of general practical use in the early twentieth century.
Etymologically, the word lathe may derive from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "land" or "landed possession", possibly cognate with the Greek λᾰ́τρον (latron, "payment").