froth

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

froth, n. [OE. frothe, Icel. fro&edh;a; akin to Dan. fraade, Sw. fradga, AS. āfreo&edh;an to froth.].

•  The bubbles caused in fluids or liquors by fermentation or agitation; spume; foam; esp., a spume of saliva caused by disease or nervous excitement.  [1913 Webster]
•  Any empty, senseless show of wit or eloquence; rhetoric without thought.  Johnson.  [1913 Webster]

  "It was a long speech, but all froth."  [1913 Webster]
•  Light, unsubstantial matter.  Tusser.  [1913 Webster]

Froth insect (Zoöl.), the cuckoo spit or frog hopper; -- called also froth spit, froth worm, and froth fly. -- Froth spit. See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo.

froth, v. t. 

•  To cause to foam.  [1913 Webster]
•  To spit, vent, or eject, as froth.  [1913 Webster]

  "He . . . froths treason at his mouth."  [1913 Webster]

  "Is your spleen frothed out, or have ye more?"  [1913 Webster]
•  To cover with froth; as, a horse froths his chain.  [1913 Webster]

froth, v. i. 

 To throw up or out spume, foam, or bubbles; to foam; as beer froths; a horse froths.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

froth, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a collection of small bubbles in liquid, caused by shaking, fermenting, etc.; foam. b impure matter on liquid, scum.
2 a idle talk or ideas. b anything unsubstantial or of little worth.
--v.
1 intr. emit or gather froth (frothing at the mouth).
2 tr. cause (beer etc.) to foam.

Idiom

froth-blower Brit. joc. a beer-drinker (esp. as a designation of a member of a charitable organization).

Derivative

frothily adv. frothiness n. frothy adj. (frothier, frothiest).

Etymology

ME f. ON frotha, frauth f. Gmc

THESAURUS

froth

aerate, air, alluvion, alluvium, ash, babble, beat, breakers, bric-a-brac, bubble, bubbles, chaff, chicken feed, chickenshit, chip, cinder, clinker, cobweb, collar, cork, cream, deposition, deposits, details, diluvium, down, draff, dregs, dribble, drivel, drool, dross, dust, effervesce, ember, ether, expectoration, fairy, feather, feces, fizz, flippancy, flue, fluff, foam, frivolity, fuzz, gab, gas, gibberish, gimcrackery, gossamer, grounds, head, hot air, knickknackery, lather, lees, levity, lightness, loess, mantle, meringue, minutiae, moraine, mote, mousse, mouth-watering, nonsense, offscum, peanuts, piffle, plash, precipitate, precipitation, ptyalism, puff, rubbish, saliva, salivate, salivation, scoria, scud, scum, sea foam, sediment, settlings, shower, sialagogue, silt, sinter, slabber, slag, slaver, slobber, slosh, small beer, small change, smut, soapsuds, soot, souffle, sparge, spatter, spindrift, spit, spittle, splash, splatter, sponge, spoondrift, spray, sprinkle, spume, sputum, stinging, straw, sublimate, sud, suds, surf, swash, thistledown, trash, trifles, trivia, trumpery, twaddle, whip, whisk, white water, yeast

ROGET THESAURUS

froth

Uncleanness

N uncleanness, impurity, immundity, immundicity, impurity, defilement, contamination, defoedation, soilure, soiliness, abomination, leaven, taint, tainture, fetor, decay, putrescence, putrefaction, corruption, mold, must, mildew, dry rot, mucor, rubigo, slovenry, slovenliness, squalor, dowdy, drab, slut, malkin, slattern, sloven, slammerkin, slammock, slummock, scrub, draggle-tail, mudlark, dust-man, sweep, beast, dirt, filth, soil, slop, dust, cobweb, flue, smoke, soot, smudge, smut, grit, grime, raff, sossle, sozzle, sordes, dregs, grounds, lees, argol, sediment, settlement heeltap, dross, drossiness, mother, precipitate, scoriae, ashes, cinders, recrement, slag, scum, froth, hogwash, ditchwater, dishwater, bilgewater, rinsings, cheeseparings, sweepings, offscourings, outscourings, off scum, caput mortuum, residuum, sprue, fecula, clinker, draff, scurf, scurfiness, exuviae, morphea, fur, furfur, dandruff, tartar, riffraff, vermin, louse, flea, bug, chinch, mud, mire, quagmire, alluvium, silt, sludge, slime, slush, slosh, sposh, spawn, offal, gurry, lientery, garbage, carrion, excreta, slough, peccant humor, pus, matter, suppuration, lienteria, faeces, feces, excrement, ordure, dung, crap, shit, sewage, sewerage, muck, coprolite, guano, manure, compost, dunghill, colluvies, mixen, midden, bog, laystall, sink, privy, jakes, toilet, john, head, cess, cesspool, sump, sough, cloaca, latrines, drain, sewer, common sewer, Cloacina, dust hole, sty, pigsty, lair, den, Augean stable, sink of corruption, slum, rookery, dirty, filthy, grimy, unclean, impure, soiled, not to be handled with kid gloves, dusty, snuffy, smutty, sooty, smoky, thick, turbid, dreggy, slimy, mussy, slovenly, untidy, messy, uncleanly, unkempt, sluttish, dowdy, draggle-tailed, uncombed, unscoured, unswept, unwiped, unwashed, unstrained, unpurified, squalid, lutose, slammocky, slummocky, sozzly, nasty, coarse, foul, offensive, abominable, beastly, reeky, reechy, fetid, decayed, moldy, musty, mildewed, rusty, moth-eaten, mucid, rancid, weak, bad, gone bad, etercoral, lentiginous, touched, fusty, effete, reasty, rotten, corrupt, tainted, high, flyblown, maggoty, putrid, putrefactive, putrescent, putrefied, saprogenic, saprogenous, purulent, carious, peccant, fecal, feculent, stercoraceous, excrementitious, scurfy, scurvy, impetiginous, gory, bloody, rotting, rotten as a pear, rotten as cheese, crapulous, gross, fimetarious, fimicolous, they that touch pitch will be defiled.

Bubble

N bubble; cloud, bubble, foam, froth, head, spume, lather, suds, spray, surf, yeast, barm, spindrift, cloud, vapor, fog, mist, haze, steam, geyser, scud, messenger, rack, nimbus, cumulus, woolpack, cirrus, stratus, cirrostratus, cumulostratus, cirrocumulus, mackerel sky, mare's tale, dirty sky, curl cloud, frost smoke, thunderhead, nephelognosy, nephograph, nephology, effervescence, fermentation, bubbling, nebula, cloudliness, nebulosity, bubbling, frothy, nappy, effervescent, sparkling, mousseux, frothy, up, cloudy, thunderheaded, vaporous, nebulous, overcast, the lowring element scowls o'er the darkened lands.

VB bubble, boil, foam, froth, mantle, sparkle, guggle, gurgle, effervesce, ferment, fizzle.