| Definitions | | latah |
|
noun
- a hyperstartling condition found in south-east Asia; a person suffering from this malady
- 1959: Latah is a condition occurring in Southeast Asia. Otherwise sane, Latahs compulsively imitate every motion once their attention is attracted by snapping the fingers or calling sharply. " William Burroughs, Naked Lunch
- 1989: It seemed to Sir Edwin that this patient, a young man who had never set foot outside England, was suffering from an ailment known as " common enough in the Malay archipelago but hitherto unknown, so far as the clinical records " admittedly not very reliable " could advise, in the temperate clime of northern Europe. " Anthony Burgess, The Devil's Mode
Etymology: Malay.
Supplemental Details:Sponsor an extended definition for latah for as little as $10 per month. Click here to contact us.
| |
|
