lathi

plural lathis · alternative lattee · alternative latti

1. IndiacountableA heavy stick or club, usually used by policemen.

   A phalanx of policemen armed with lathis faced a mob of mill workers squatting on the road.

   2004, Khushwant Singh, Burial at Sea, Penguin, published 2014, page 131

   2 more examples

   The iron-bound bamboo staves, known as lâtees, with which most disputes among rival zemindars were traditionally settled.

   1973, JG Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur

   Nearby, held back by a line of lathi-carrying peons, stood the farmers whose vessels were being weighed […].

   2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 94

2. uncountableA martial art based on stick fighting originally practiced in India.

   Lathi shares its basic principles with other martial arts.