lather

English

WOTD – 15 January 2016

Pronunciation

• enPR: lă.th'ə, lä.th'ə, IPA^(key): /ˈlæ.ðə(ɹ)/, /ˈlɑːðə(ɹ)/
• IPA^(key): /ˈlæðɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æðə(r), -ɑːðə(r)

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 *lowh₃-tro- (“that which is used for washing”), from *lawe-, *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 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)

1. The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
2. Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.
3. A state of agitation.

Derived terms

• in a lather
• lathery

Translations

foam of soap and water

• Bulgarian: сапунена пяна f (sapunena pjana)
• Catalan: sabonera (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 泡沫兒／泡沫儿 (zh), 泡沫儿 (zh) (pàomòr)

• Czech: mydliny f pl
• Dutch: sop (nl) n, zeepsop (nl) n, schuim (nl) n
• Esperanto: sapŝaŭmo
• Finnish: saippuavaahto (fi)
• French: mousse de savon f
• Galician: escuma (gl) f, espuma f
• German: Seifenschaum m, Schaum (de) m
• Hungarian: szappanhab (hu), hab (hu)
• Irish: sobal m
• Italian: schiuma di sapone f
• Japanese: 泡 (ja) (あわ, awa, あぶく, abuku), 泡沫 (ja) (ほうまつ, hōmatsu, うたかた, utakata)
• Korean: 비누 거품 (binu geopum)
• Macedonian: сапуница f (sapunica)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malayalam: പത (ml) (pata)
• Mongolian: хөөс (mn) (xöös)
• Norwegian: skum (no) n
• Polish: piana mydlana f
• Portuguese: espuma (pt) f
• Russian: мы́льная пе́на f (mýlʹnaja péna)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сапу̀ница f

  Roman: sapùnica (sh) f

• Spanish: espuma de jabón f
• Swedish: lödder (sv)
• Telugu: నురగ (nuraga)
• Turkish: sabun köpürmek
• Welsh: trochion
• Westrobothnian:

foam from profuse sweating

• French: écume (fr) f
• German: Schaum (de) m, Pferdeschaum m (of a horse)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hab (hu), tajték (hu)
• Irish: brat allais m

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English *lethren, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English lēþrian, lȳþrian, *līeþrian (“to anoint, smear, lather”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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)

1. (transitive) To cover with lather.
2. (transitive) To beat or whip.
3. (intransitive) To form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating.

Derived terms

• lather up

Translations

to cover with lather

• Bulgarian: насапунисвам (nasapunisvam)
• Catalan: ensabonar (ca)
• Czech: namydlit
• Dutch: inzepen (nl), soppen (nl)
• Finnish: vaahdottaa, saippuoida (fi)
• French: savonner (fr)
• Galician: enxaboar (gl)
• German: einschäumen
• Hungarian: szappanoz (hu), beszappanoz (hu)
• Italian: insaponare (it)
• Macedonian: насапунува (nasapunuva)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: mydlić
• Portuguese: ensaboar (pt)
• Russian: мы́лить (ru) (mýlitʹ), намы́лить (ru) (namýlitʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сапуњати, насапуњати

  Roman: sapunjati, nasapunjati

• Spanish: enjabonar (es)
• Turkish: sabunlamak (tr)
• Welsh: seboni (cy), trochioni; golchi (cy)

to beat or whip

• Bulgarian: бия (bg) (bija), пердаша (bg) (perdaša) (разг.)
• Czech: našlehat
• Finnish: vaahdottaa, vatkata (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: aufschäumen, aufschlagen (de)
• Hungarian: megruház, eldönget, megver (hu)

to form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating

• German: schäumen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: habzik (hu)

Anagrams

• Hartel, Hartle, Thrale, halter, rathel, thaler