Adjacent Words

Lather definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LATH'ER, v.i.
To form a foam with water and soap; to become froth, or frothy matter.
LATH'ER, v.t. To spread over with the foam of soap.
LATH'ER, n.
1. Foam or froth made by soap moistened with water.
2. Foam or froth from profuse sweat, as of a horse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the froth produced by soaps or detergents [syn: soapsuds, suds, lather]
2: agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams" [syn: fret, stew, sweat, lather, swither]
3: a workman who puts up laths
4: the foam resulting from excessive sweating (as on a horse) v
1: beat severely with a whip or rod; "The teacher often flogged the students"; "The children were severely trounced" [syn: flog, welt, whip, lather, lash, slash, strap, trounce]
2: form a lather; "The shaving cream lathered"
3: exude sweat or lather; "this unfit horse lathers easily"
4: rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning [syn: soap, lather]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English *lather, from Old English l?athor; akin to Latin lavere to wash — more at lye Date: before 12th century 1. a. a foam or froth formed when a detergent (as soap) is agitated in water b. foam or froth from profuse sweating (as on a horse) 2. an agitated or overwrought state ; dither <worked himself into a lather> • lathery adjective II. verb (lathered; lathering) Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to spread lather over 2. to beat severely ; flog intransitive verb to form a lather or a froth like lather • latherer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a froth produced by agitating soap etc. and water. 2 frothy sweat, esp. of a horse. 3 a state of agitation. --v. 1 intr. (of soap etc.) form a lather. 2 tr. cover with lather. 3 intr. (of a horse etc.) develop or become covered with lather. 4 tr. colloq. thrash. Derivatives: lathery adj. Etymology: OE leathor (n.), lethran (v.)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lather Lath"er, n. [AS. le['a][eth]or niter, in le['a][eth]orwyrt soapwort; cf. Icel. lau?r; perh. akin to E. lye.] 1. Foam or froth made by soap moistened with water. 2. Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lather Lath"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Lathering.] [AS. l[=e][eth]rian to lather, anoint. See Lather, n. ] To spread over with lather; as, to lather the face.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lather Lath"er, v. i. To form lather, or a froth like lather; to accumulate foam from profuse sweating, as a horse.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lather Lath"er, v. t. [Cf. Leather.] To beat severely with a thong, strap, or the like; to flog. [Low]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lathers, lathering, lathered) 1. A lather is a white mass of bubbles which is produced by mixing a substance such as soap or washing powder with water. ...the sort of water that easily makes a lather with soap... He wiped off the remains of the lather with a towel. N-SING 2. When a substance such as soap or washing powder lathers, it produces a white mass of bubbles because it has been mixed with water. The shampoo lathers and foams so much it's very hard to rinse it all out. VERB: V 3. If you lather something, you rub a substance such as soap or washing powder on it until a lather is produced, in order to clean it. Lather your hair as normal... For super-soft skin, lather on a light body lotion before you bathe. VERB: V n, V n with adv, also V n prep

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Foam (of soap and water), froth.

Moby Thesaurus

BO, aerate, anxiety, baptize, bath, bathe, beaded brow, beads of sweat, beat, beat all hollow, beat hollow, belabor, best, body odor, bother, breakers, breathless impatience, buffet, bustle, chafing, clamor, cold sweat, collar, cream, defeat, destroy, diaphoresis, disquietude, dither, do in, douche, dress down, drub, eagerness, excitement, exudate, exudation, fix, flagellate, flail, flap, flax, flog, flush, flush out, fluster, flusteration, flustration, flutter, foam, foofaraw, fret, fretfulness, fretting, froth, fuss, gargle, give a dressing-down, hassle, haste, head, hide, holystone, honest sweat, hors de combat, hubbub, impatience, impatientness, impetuousness, irrigate, lambaste, larrup, lash, launder, lave, leather, lick, mantle, maul, meringue, mop, mop up, mousse, offscum, outclass, outdo, outfight, outgeneral, outmaneuver, outpoint, outrun, outsail, outshine, paddle, perspiration, perspiration odor, pother, pucker, puff, pummel, put, restiveness, restlessness, rinse, rinse out, ritually immerse, ruin, scour, scrub, scrub up, scud, scum, sea foam, settle, shampoo, shower, skin, skin alive, sluice, sluice out, soap, soapsuds, souffle, spindrift, sponge, spoondrift, spray, spume, state, stew, stinging, streams of sweat, sud, sudor, sudoresis, suds, surf, swab, sweat, swelter, swivet, syringe, tan, tense readiness, thrash, tizzy, toivel, trim, triumph over, trounce, tub, turmoil, twitter, twitteration, undo, uneasiness, unpatientness, unquietness, wallop, wash, wash out, wash up, water, welt, whack, whale, whip, whisk, white water, worst, yeast