lather
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L323099 on Wikidata ↗verb
- to cover with soap
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈlɑː.ðə/ / /ˈlæð.ə/ / /ˈlæð.ɚ/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English lather, from Old English lēaþor (“a kind of nitre used for soap, soda”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauþr, 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 loathar (“wash-basin”), Ancient Greek λουτρόν (loutrón, “a bath, wash-room”), Latin lavō (“to wash”), Albanian laj (“to wash”), Ancient Greek λούω (loúō). More at lye. Compare typologically Russian мы́ло (mýlo) (a nomen instrumenti of мыть (mytʹ)).
- The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
- Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.
- A state of agitation.
verb
Etymology: 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.
- To cover with lather.
“I lathered my body with lavender-scented soap.”
- To beat or whip.
- To form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating.
“I woke Corporal Honda to see to the horse. Heavily lathered and breathing hard, it had obviously come a long way at high speed.”