lather¹

[lath -er] /ˈlæð ər/

noun

foam or froth made by a detergent, especially soap, when stirred or rubbed in water, as by a brush used in shaving or by hands in washing.

foam or froth formed in profuse sweating, as on a horse.

Informal. a state of excitement, agitation, nervous tension, or the like:

He was in a lather over my delay.

verb (used without object)

to form a lather:

a soap that lathers well.

to become covered with lather, as a horse.

verb (used with object)

to apply lather to; cover with lather:

He lathered his face before shaving.

Informal. to beat or whip.

Origin

before 950; Middle English; Old English lēathor soap; cognate with Old Norse lauthr (Icelandic löthur) lather, foam

Related forms

latherer, noun

unlathered, adjective

lather²

[lath-er, lah-ther] /ˈlæθ ər, ˈlɑ θər/

noun

a worker who puts up laths.

Origin

lath + -er¹

Examples from the web for lather

Also, lather on plenty of sunscreen in order to avoid sun poisoning or severe sunburn.
If you do go hiking or biking during the day, lather on the sunscreen and bring plenty of drinking water with you.
Some lather up, while others dance and sing in the water.
Experts advise that you wet your hands under warm water, then lather them with plenty of soap.
For a thicker lather, combine baking soda with liquid soap until the texture approximates frosting.
Cave repeats phrases and works himself into a lather, but avoids yelling.
So the finders aren't fanatics, it seems, even if they've got the rest of us in a lather.
The history of ethics reform is lather-rinse-repeat.
Add soap, then rub your hands together, making a soapy lather.
However, the instructions on the bottle tells you to lather twice.

British Dictionary definitions for lather

lather

/ˈlɑːðə; ˈlæ-/

noun

foam or froth formed by the action of soap or a detergent in water

foam formed by other liquid, such as the sweat of a horse

(informal) a state of agitation or excitement

verb

to coat or become coated with lather

(intransitive) to form a lather

Derived Forms

lathery, adjective

Word Origin

Old English lēathor soap; related to Old Norse lauthr foam

Word Origin and History for lather

Old English lauþr "foam, washing soda," from Proto-Germanic *lauþran (cf. Old Norse lauðr "washing soap, foam"), from PIE *loutro- (cf. Gaulish lautron, Old Irish loathar "bathing tub," Greek louein "to bathe," Latin lavere "to wash"), which is from root *leu(e)- "to wash" + instrumentative suffix *-tro-. The modern noun might be a 16c. redevelopment from the verb. Meaning "violent perspiration" (especially of horses) is from 1650s. Meaning "state of agitation" (such as induces sweating) is from 1839.

Old English laþran, from Proto-Germanic *lauþrjan (cf. Old Norse leyðra "to clean, wash;" see lather (n.)). Related: Lathered; lathering.

Slang definitions & phrases for lather

lather

verb

To hit; strike: He lathered the ball out of the park

Related Terms

in a lather

[1797+; fr the notion that frothy washing lather is produced by vigorous agitation or beating]

Idioms and Phrases with lather

lather

see: in a lather