Meanings
laches1
- Negligence in one's duty.
But there was a quality in Mary that did not lightly invite to gallantry—a gravity and a balance that, had he looked closely into the matter, might have explained his laches.
1919, Stanley J. Weyman, “V. The London Packet”, in The Great House - lawAn unreasonable delay in bringing a claim alleging a wrong, which means the person who waited shall not be permitted to seek an equitable remedy because the delay prejudiced the moving party.
It ill became him to take advantage of such a laches with the eagerness of a shrewd attorney.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XV, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC
Laches2
- A surname.
Origin
- Latinlaxo“relax, moderate, weaken”
- Vulgar Latinlaxico
- Old Frenchlachesse“laxness”
- Anglo-Normanlaches
- Englishlaches
From Anglo-Norman laches, from Old French lachesse (“laxness”), from laschier, from Vulgar Latin laxico, frequentative of Latin laxo (“relax, moderate, weaken”).
More words from Anglo-Norman, Old French, Vulgar Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian пропускане на срок
- пропускане на срок (propuskane na srok)legal doctrine
Dutch verwijtbare nalatigheid
- verwijtbare nalatigheidlegal doctrine
Polish przedawnienie
- przedawnienielegal doctrine
Russian неоснова́тельное промедле́ние
- неоснова́тельное промедле́ние (neosnovátelʹnoje promedlénije)legal doctrine
Spanish tardanza, incuria
- tardanzalegal doctrine
- incurialegal doctrine
- prescripción negativalegal doctrine
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
laches. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laches
“laches.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laches. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “laches,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laches.
Source: laches on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.