A lathe (/ˈleɪð/; Old English: lǽð; Latin: lestus) formed an administrative country subdivision of the county of Kent, England, from the Anglo-Saxon period, until it fell out of general practical use in the early twentieth century.

Etymologically, the word lathe may derive from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "land" or "landed possession", possibly cognate with the Greek λᾰ́τρον (latron, "payment").

By the late eleventh century the traditional area of West Kent comprised three lathes:

while East Kent comprised four lathes:

Of these, Sutton-at-Hone and Milton sometimes ranked as half-lathes.

In the thirteenth century Kent had a total of five lathes:

The lathe was an ancient division of Kent and originated, probably in the 6th century, during the Jutish colonisation of the county. There exists a widespread belief that lathes originally formed around the royal settlements of the Kingdom of Kent. By the late Anglo-Saxon period they seem to have become purely administrative units, each of which contained several hundreds.

The lathe was an important administrative, judicial and taxation unit for 600 years after the Domesday Book of 1086. The functions of lathe and hundreds were somewhat similar, with a lathe covering a much wider area. Although never formally abolished, they have no administrative functions today. The Sheriff toured the county twice yearly attending on the lathes, in the case of Sutton at Hone, possibly at Shire Hall. The lathe was responsible for the raising of aids and subsidies for the Militia. However the lathe court became anomalous as it fell between the hundredal courts below and the justices of the county (in petty and quarter sessions) above.