lather.
The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
Meaning & usage
The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.
A state of agitation.
Where this word comes from
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)).
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.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English letheren, from Old English līeþran, from Proto-West Germanic *lauþrijan, from Proto-Germanic *lauþrijaną (“to soap, wash”). Cognate with Old Norse leyðra (“to wash, lather”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.