Etymology

latten

L1A1T1T1E1N1

Today it means: An alloy of copper and tin, similar to bronze, with a sufficient portion of tin to make it a pewter-like color with yellowish tinge (rather than the brownish-gold color of bronze of higher copper content), once used in thin sheets and for domestic utensils and light-duty tools. Full definition →

Middle English laten ← Old French laton ← Arabic لَاطُون
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The story

  1. Proto-Common Turkic · derived from*altun“gold”
  2. Arabic · derived fromلَاطُون“copper, copper alloy”
  3. Old French · derived fromlaton
  4. Middle English · inherited fromlaten
  5. English todaylatten

From Middle English laten, latun, latoun, from Old French laton, laiton, from Arabic لَاطُون (lāṭūn, “copper, copper alloy”), itself from Proto-Common Turkic *altun (“gold”). See Turkish altın, Old Turkic 𐰞𐱃𐰆𐰣 (altun, “gold”), Karakhanid اَلْتُونْ (altūn, “gold”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.