Link Centre Dictionary

lather

lat·her

UK/ˈlɑː.ðə/ US/ˈlæð.ə/ uncommon
noun (4) verb (4)

noun

1.

the froth produced by soaps or detergents

Synonyms
2.

agitation resulting from active worry

  • “don”
  • “;”
  • “s in a sweat about exams”
Synonyms
3.

a workman who puts up laths

4.

the foam resulting from excessive sweating (as on a horse)

verb

1.

cover with soap

  • “lather your body when you shower”
2.

beat severely with a whip or rod

  • “The teacher often flogged the students”
  • “The children were severely trounced”
Synonyms
3.

form a lather

  • “The shaving cream lathered”
4.

rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning

Synonyms

Origin

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)).

Phrases

  • in a lather
  • lather up
  • lather, rinse, repeat

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.