lather

 
Pronunciation: /ˈlɑːðə, ˈlaðə/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] a frothy white mass of bubbles produced by soap, washing powder, etc. when mixed with water: she rinsed off the lather and dried her hands
  • heavy sweat visible on a horse’s coat as a white foam.
  • 2 (a lather) informal a state of agitation or nervous excitement: Dad had got into a right lather by the time I got home

verb

  • 1form or cause to form a lather: [no object]: soap will not lather in hard water
  • [with object] rub soap on to (the body) until a lather is produced: she was lathering herself languidly beneath the shower
  • (be/become lathered) (of a horse) be or become covered with sweat: his horse was lathered up by the end of the day
  • 2 [with object] spread (a substance) thickly or liberally: we lathered the cream on our scones
  • cover (something) with liberal amounts of a substance: she lathered a slice of toast with butter
  • 3 [with object] informal thrash (someone): my mother caught me by the back of the neck and lathered me up the steps

Derivatives

lathery

adjective

Origin:

Old English læthor (denoting washing soda or its froth), lēthran (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse lauthr (noun), from an Indo-European root shared by Greek loutron 'bath'