slather

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slather

/ˈslæðə(ɹ)/

Rhymes with -æðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Unknown; attested from early 19th century, in the sense "to slip, slide".

For the sense "to rain", compare East Frisian sladdern and northern German schladdern ("to rain noisily").

verb slathers · slathering · slathered

transitive To spread something thickly on something else; to coat well. I slathered jam on my toast.
Similar: smother
often, transitive, followed by with To apply generously upon. I slathered my toast with jam.
transitive To squander.
transitive To rain. ... rain had fallen all night and it was slathering down in sheets now. That didn't add to my good humor none.

noun slathers

transitive A thick sauce or spread that is to be slathered (spread thickly) onto food.
transitive Drool (especially if abundant). [The river] Ván in SnE I 21 is mentioned as coming from the slather of the bound Fenris Wolf.
plural normally, transitive A generous or abundant quantity. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slather

Translations

Every language

verb to spread something thickly on something else; to coat well

Français	appliquer quelque chose épais
Deutsch	auftragen, einschmieren
Italiano	spalmare
Русский	намазывать namazyvatʹ, размазывать razmazyvatʹ

verb to apply generously upon

Français	appliquer une généreuse quantité
Русский	намазывать namazyvatʹ

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MLA

"slather." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/slather. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

slather. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/slather

Chicago

"slather." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/slather.

BibTeX

@misc{slather_2026,
  title = {slather},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/slather},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}