laches

English · Français

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

laches^¹

/ˈlætʃɪz/ UK

Sounds like latches · Rhymes with -ætʃɪz

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman laches, from Old French lachesse (“laxness”), from laschier, from Vulgar Latin laxico, frequentative of Latin laxo (“relax, moderate, weaken”).

noun

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.
An 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.

Laches^²

proper noun

A surname.

Translations

Every language

noun legal doctrine

Español	tardanza, incuria, prescripción negativa
Русский	неоснова́тельное промедле́ние neosnovátelʹnoje promedlénije

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"laches." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/laches. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

laches. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/laches

Chicago

"laches." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/laches.

BibTeX

@misc{laches_2026,
  title = {laches},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/laches},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}