Latigoes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of long, flexible whip used traditionally in ranching and equestrian activities for directing livestock or as a tool for discipline
2. A specific kind of leather strap or thong employed for lashing or striking, often associated with horse riding or herding practices
3. A tool made of braided leather or other materials, utilized in various cultures for controlling or guiding animals while on horseback or during cattle management

Etymology: "Latigoes" is simply the plural of "latigo," a word that arrived in English from Spanish, where "látigo" means "whip." The Spanish term is itself traced to Catalan or Portuguese "látego," meaning the same thing, and that form probably descends from a Gothic reconstruction, "laittug," which is linked to the Old English "lāttēh," the ancestor of the modern English "lash" family of whip-related words. The surprise is that a Germanic word for a whip travelled south into Iberia and then came back into English through the Spanish-speaking cattle culture of the American West, where the leather-thonged whip became a working tool.

Synonyms: whips, lashes, straps, lines, cords