Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
communist guerrilla movement and political party in Laos, 1954, from Laotian Thai, literally "Land of the Lao."
Wikipedia
The Pathet Lao ( Lao: ປະເທດລາວ, "Lao Nation") was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power in 1975, after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists. During the civil war, it was effectively organized, equipped and even led by the Army of North Vietnam. They fought against the anti-communist forces in the Vietnam War.
The Pathet Lao were the Laotian equivalent of South Vietnam's Viet Minh and later Viet Cong, and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge. Eventually, the term became the generic name for Laotian communists.
Pathet Lao is a weekly newspaper published in Laos.
Usage examples of "pathet lao".
By keeping the Pathet Lao busy with the help of the CIA and the American military, Pao's Hmong tribesmen were able to become the region's largest heroin producers.
Following a failed attack on a Pathet Lao camp, while Chris was being tortured for information (face crushed, appendix ruptured, spine fractured), Chan had led a rescue mission, saving Chris's life.
The territory on the other side is in the hands of the Pathet Lao, which takes orders from Peking.
The Laotian opium fields are temporarily in the hands of the Pathet Lao.
Cambodia had fallen to the Khmer Rouge, Lagos was falling to the Pathet Lao, and the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong were about to enter Saigon.