lather
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: lăth'ə, lä'thə, IPA(key): /ˈlæð.ə(ɹ)/, /ˈlɑː.ðə(ɹ)/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈlæð.ɚ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -æðə(ɹ), -ɑːðə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
From Middle English lather, from Old English lēaþor (“a kind of niter used for soap, soda”), from Proto-Germanic *lauþrą (“that which is used for washing, soap”), from Proto-Indo-European *lówh₃trom (“that which is used for washing”), from *lewh₃-, *lowh₃- (“to wash, bathe”). Cognate with Swedish lödder (“lather, foam, froth, soap”), Icelandic löður (“foam, froth, a kind of niter used for soap”), Old Irish lóathar (“wash-basin”), Ancient Greek λουτρόν (loutrón, “a bath, wash-room”), Latin lavō (“I wash”), Albanian laj (“I wash”), Ancient Greek λούω (loúō). More at lye.
Noun
lather (countable and uncountable, plural lathers)
- (countable, uncountable) The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
- (countable, uncountable) Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.
- (countable) A state of agitation.
Derived terms
- in a lather
- lathery
Translations
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Etymology 2
From Middle English *lethren, from Old English lēþrian, lȳþrian, *līeþrian (“to anoint, smear, lather”), from Old English lēaþor (“a kind of niter used for soap, soda”). See above.
Verb
lather (third-person singular simple present lathers, present participle lathering, simple past and past participle lathered)
- (transitive) To cover with lather.
- The young woman lathered her breasts with lavender-scented soap.
- (transitive) To beat or whip.
- (intransitive) To form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating.
- 1997, Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin, transl., The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, →ISBN, page 147:
- I woke Corporal Honda to see to the horse. Heavily lathered and breathing hard, it had obviously come a long way at high speed.
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Derived terms
- lather up
- lather, rinse, repeat
Translations
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Anagrams
- Hartel, Hartle, Thrale, halter, rathel, thaler