A lateral or onside pass is one thrown, handed, knocked, batted, or fumbled by a player parallel to or in the direction of their own deadline.
The point of termination is that point at which the ball is caught, strikes another player, an official, or the ground, or goes out of bounds, and it is the factor which determines whether it is a lateral pass, regardless of the direction in which it goes afterwards.
A lateral pass striking the ground is not dead, and may be recovered legally by either team.
When a lateral pass goes out of bounds, without being touched by a player after the pass is made, the ball shall be put into play at the hash mark at the out of bounds point, or at the point of origin of the pass, whichever is closer to the dead line of the team entitled to possession.