Meanings
lather1
plural lathers
- countableuncountableThe foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water.
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 3 - countableA state of agitation.
lather2
present singular third person lathers · participle present lathering · participle past lathered · past lathered
- transitiveTo beat or whip.
- intransitiveTo form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating.
I woke Corporal Honda to see to the horse. Heavily lathered and breathing hard, it had obviously come a long way at high speed.
1997, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, →ISBN, page 147
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
verbbeat severely with a whip or rod
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
lather · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*lówh₃trom“that which is used for washing”
- Proto-Germanic*lauþrą“that which is used for washing, soap”
- Proto-West Germanic*lauþr
- Old Englishlēaþor“a kind of nitre used for soap, soda”
- Middle Englishlather
- Englishlather
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)).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →lather · verb
- Proto-Germanic*lauþrijaną“to soap, wash”
- Proto-West Germanic*lauþrijan
- Old Englishlīeþran
- Middle Englishletheren
- Englishlather
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”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian сапунена пяна, насапунисвам
- сапунена пяна (sapunena pjana)foam of soap and water
- насапунисвам (nasapunisvam)to cover with lather
- бия (bija)to beat or whip
- пердаша (perdaša)to beat or whip
Catalan sabonera, ensabonar
- sabonerafoam of soap and water
- ensabonarto cover with lather
Chinese Mandarin 泡沫兒 /泡沫儿
- 泡沫兒 /泡沫儿 (pàomòr)foam of soap and water
Czech mydliny, mýdlová pěna
- mydlinyfoam of soap and water
- mýdlová pěnafoam of soap and water
- pěnafoam from profuse sweating
- namydlitto cover with lather
- našlehatto beat or whip
Danish skum
- skumfoam of soap and water
Dutch sop, zeepsop
- sopfoam of soap and water
- zeepsopfoam of soap and water
- schuimfoam of soap and water
- paardenschuimfoam from profuse sweating
- inzepento cover with lather
- soppento cover with lather
Esperanto sapŝaŭmo
- sapŝaŭmofoam of soap and water
Finnish saippuavaahto, vaahto
- saippuavaahtofoam of soap and water
- vaahtofoam of soap and water
- vaahtofoam from profuse sweating
- vaahtoaminenstate of agitation
- vaahdottaato cover with lather
- saippuoidato cover with lather
- vaahdottaato beat or whip
- vatkatato beat or whip
- vispatato beat or whip
French mousse de savon, écume
- mousse de savonfoam of soap and water
- écumefoam from profuse sweating
- savonnerto cover with lather
German Seifenschaum, Schaum
- Seifenschaumfoam of soap and water
- Schaumfoam of soap and water
- Schaumfoam from profuse sweating
- Pferdeschaumfoam from profuse sweating
- einschäumento cover with lather
- aufschäumento beat or whip
- aufschlagento beat or whip
- schäumento form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
Hungarian szappanhab, hab
- szappanhabfoam of soap and water
- habfoam of soap and water
- habfoam from profuse sweating
- tajtékfoam from profuse sweating
- szappanozto cover with lather
- beszappanozto cover with lather
- megruházto beat or whip
- eldöngetto beat or whip
- megverto beat or whip
- habzikto form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
Irish sobal, brat allais
- sobalfoam of soap and water
- brat allaisfoam from profuse sweating
Italian schiuma di sapone, insaponare
- schiuma di saponefoam of soap and water
- insaponareto cover with lather
Japanese 泡, 泡沫
- 泡foam of soap and water
- 泡沫foam of soap and water
Korean 비누 거품
- 비누 거품 (binu geopum)foam of soap and water
Norwegian skum
- skumfoam of soap and water
Persian کف
- کف (kaf)foam of soap and water
Polish piana mydlana, mydlić
- piana mydlanafoam of soap and water
- mydlićto cover with lather
- namydlaćto cover with lather
- namydlićto cover with lather
Portuguese espuma, ensaboar
- espumafoam of soap and water
- ensaboarto cover with lather
Russian мы́льная пе́на, пе́на
- мы́льная пе́на (mýlʹnaja péna)foam of soap and water
- пе́на (péna)foam from profuse sweating
- мы́лить (mýlitʹ)to cover with lather
- намы́лить (namýlitʹ)to cover with lather
Spanish espuma de jabón, espuma jabonosa/saponácea
- espuma de jabónfoam of soap and water
- espuma jabonosa/saponáceafoam of soap and water
- enjabonarto cover with lather
- espumarto form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
- espumearto form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
Swedish lödder
- lödderfoam of soap and water
Turkish köpük, sabunlamak
- köpükfoam of soap and water
- sabunlamakto cover with lather
Ukrainian мильна піна, піна
- мильна піна (mylʹna pina)foam of soap and water
- піна (pina)foam from profuse sweating
- мило (mylo)foam from profuse sweating
- милити (mylyty)to cover with lather
- намилити (namylyty)to cover with lather
- бити (byty)to beat or whip
- шмагати (šmahaty)to beat or whip
- покриватися милом (pokryvatysja mylom)to form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
- покриватися піною (pokryvatysja pinoju)to form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating
Welsh trochion, seboni
- trochionfoam of soap and water
- sebonito cover with lather
- trochionito cover with lather
- golchito cover with lather
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lather
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lather. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lather
“lather.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lather. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lather,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lather.
Source: lather on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.