Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A rope for picketing grazing horses or mules.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To catch or fasten with a lariat; lasso.
  • noun A rope or cord used for picketing horses while grazing.
  • noun A thong or noose used for catching wild animals: called in California, Mexico, and further south a lasso. Also called reata, often spelled riata.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Mexico & Western U.S. A long, slender rope made of hemp or strips of hide, esp. one with a noose; -- used as a lasso for catching cattle, horses, etc., and for picketing a horse so that he can graze without wandering.
  • transitive verb Western U.S. To secure with a lariat fastened to a stake, as a horse or mule for grazing; also, to lasso or catch with a lariat.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a lasso
  • noun a tether
  • noun wrestling An attack where the wrestler runs towards an opponent, wraps his arm around their upper chest and neck and then forces them to the ground.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a long noosed rope used to catch animals

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish la reata : la, the (from Latin illa; see al- in Indo-European roots) + reatar, to tie again (re-, again from Latin; see re– + atar, to tie, from Latin aptāre, to join, from aptus, past participle of apere, to tie).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish la reata ‘the lasso’.

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Examples

  • Our word lariat comes from this Mexican word with the definite article prefixed and the final vowel dropped.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XVIII No 4 1991

  • I just know that its supposed to be called a lariat, not lasso.

    WB (STILL) HATES CHICKS, WONDER WOMAN 2007

  • The Indians had copied saddles, stirrups, the crupper, and the lariat from the Spanish explorers, who, in turn had borrowed these innovations from the Moors Arabic people from North Africa, who had previously occupied Spain for 500 years.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 1995

  • The lariat is a string of pearls and trinkets that's long enough to wrap around her neck several times, and Ms. Takagi knots it in different ways to match her style.

    The Right Necklace for Your Clothes 2008

  • The lariat is a string of pearls and trinkets that is long enough to wrap around her neck several times, and Ms. Takagi knots it in different ways to match her style.

    A new take on necklaces 2008

  • The lariat is a great way to complement a top or dress that features a V-neck, a plunging neckline, or a deep-cut wrap opening, as the shape of a traditional lariat falls along the same shape gently over the chest.

    Before You Put That On Lloyd Boston 2005

  • The lariat is a great way to complement a top or dress that features a V-neck, a plunging neckline, or a deep-cut wrap opening, as the shape of a traditional lariat falls along the same shape gently over the chest.

    Before You Put That On Lloyd Boston 2005

  • The lariat is a great way to complement a top or dress that features a V-neck, a plunging neckline, or a deep-cut wrap opening, as the shape of a traditional lariat falls along the same shape gently over the chest.

    Before You Put That On Lloyd Boston 2005

  • The Indians had copied saddles, stirrups, the crupper, and the lariat from the Spanish explorers, who in turn had borrowed these innovations from the Moors Arabic people from North Africa, who had previously occupied Spain for seven hundred years.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

  • The Indians had copied saddles, stirrups, the crupper, and the lariat from the Spanish explorers, who in turn had borrowed these innovations from the Moors Arabic people from North Africa, who had previously occupied Spain for seven hundred years.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

Comments

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  • Her eyes throw black lariats

    one for his head,

    one for his heels—

    and the beast lies vanquished—

    walls still,

    streams still,

    except for a tarn,

    or is it a pool,

    or is it a whirlpool

    twitching with memory?

    - Alfred Kreymborg, 'Dorothy'.

    September 21, 2009