lather

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“
This was repeated for several nights, for until the lather was applied the child would not settle to sleep.

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Definitions (26)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun A foam formed by soap or detergent agitated in water, as in washing or shaving.
  2. noun Froth formed by profuse sweating, as on a horse.
  3. noun Informal A condition of anxious or heated discomposure; agitation: The students were in a lather over the proposed restrictions.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

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Examples (50)

  • Suds was also used by barbers to name the lather spread on whiskers before shaving.To be in the suds or to be left in the suds was an old slang term pointing to difficulty, embarrassment, or confusion; it could also refer to disgrace.
  • The man had worked himself into a lather, and it was obviously infuriating to him that Theo was unimpressed with his tantrum. —  Garwood, Julie - Mercy
  • The horse was in a heavy lather, and Mr. Dillon was covered with dust You weren't shot, were you?" —  Dave Porter in the Gold Fields The Search for the Landslide Mine
  • In a quarter of an hour his horse was in a lather, and his whip had flayed one or two of the bullocks, but there they stood again with necks outstretched towards the creek, lowing piteously. —  Elder Conklin
  • But the lather is getting a little cold, sir Better cold lather, barber, than a cold heart. —  The Confidence-Man
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This word has been looked up 99 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

suds ·  spume ·  froth ·  spittle ·  mucus ·  saponification ·  ectoplasm ·  spattering ·  strop

Used in the same contextWord Family

lather:   lathered
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably from Middle English latheren, to wash or soak clothes, from Old English lēthran, to cover with lather; see leu(ə)- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. from Middle English lather, from Anglo-Saxon leáthor, a kind of niter used for soap, lather, = Icelandic laudhr, modern lödhr, froth, foam, a kind of niter or soap used in washing, = Swedish lodder, soap.
  2. from Middle English *lethren, from Anglo-Saxon lēthrian, ly¯thrian, lather, smear (= Icelandic laudhra, foam, be dripping wet with salt water, leydhra, wash), from leáthor, lather: see lather, n.
  3. from lath + -er
 

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/ˈlæθər/
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