Latah definition

lätə
A culture-specific startle response seen primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia, characterized by abnormal behaviors such as mimicry and unquestioning obedience to others.
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An individual who exhibits this response.
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A culture-specific disorder in which the startle response causes abnormal behaviors such as mimicry and obeying all commands. It is seen primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia.
noun
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An individual who exhibits this response.
noun
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
latah
Plural:
latahs

Origin of latah

  • Malay perhaps from Sanskrit laṭaḥ one who speaks like a fool

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Latah Sentence Examples

  • More than one-half of the cereal crop in 1905 was produced in the prairie and plateau region of Nez Perce and Latah counties.

  • The production of orchard fruits (apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums and prunes) increased greatly from 1889 to 1899; the six counties of Ada, Canyon (probably the leading fruit county of the state), Latah (famous for apples), Washington, Owyhee and Nez Perce had in 1900 89% of the plum and prune trees, 85% of all pear trees, 78% of all cherry trees, and 74% of all apple trees in the state, and in 1906 it was estimated by the State Commissioner of Immigration that there were nearly 48,000 acres of land devoted to orchard fruits in Idaho.

  • In 1906 the Weyerhauser Syndicate built at Potlatch, a town built by the syndicate in Latah county, a lumber mill, supposed to be the largest in the United States, with a daily capacity of 750,000 ft.

  • Higher education is provided by the University of Idaho, established in 1899 at Moscow, Latah county, which confers degrees in arts, science, music and engineering, and offers free tuition.

  • The nervous affliction called latah, to which many Malays are subject, is also a curious trait of the people.

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Words near latah in the Dictionary