pour
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: pô
ipa: /pɔː/
enpr: pôr
ipa: /poɹ/
note: rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
enpr: pōr
ipa: /po(ː)ɹ/
note: rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
note: non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger
ipa: /poə/
enpr: pour
enpr: pouər
ipa: /paʊɹ/
ipa: /paʊəɹ/
rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
homophone: pore
homophone: poor (pour–poor merger)
homophone: paw (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger)
Forms: form: pours
form: pouring
form: poured
form: poured
Etymology: From Middle English pouren (“to pour”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Northern French purer (“to sift (grain), pour out (water)”), from Latin pūrō (“to purify”), from pūrus (“pure”). Compare Middle Dutch afpuren (“to pour off, drain”).
To pour displaced several Middle English verbs:
* schenchen, schenken (“to pour”), from Old English sċenċan (“to pour out”) and Old Norse skenkja, from Proto-Germanic *skankijaną. Compare dialectal English shink, skink.
* yeten, from Old English ġēotan (“to pour”), from Proto-Germanic *geutaną.
* birlen (“to pour, serve drink to”), from Old English byrelian (“to pour, serve drink to”).
* hellen (“to pour, pour out”), from Old Norse hella (“to pour out, incline”).
* temen (“to pour out, empty”), from Old Norse tœma (“to pour out, empty”). Compare archaic English teem.
Senses: examples: text: pour water from a jug
text: pour wine into a decanter
text: to pour oil onto chips
text: to pour out sand or dust.
glosses: To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.
examples: text: My teacher poured scorn on my attempts at writing.
text: How London doth pour out her citizens.
ref: 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, prologue]:
text: […] I haue drunke neither wine nor strong drinke, but haue powred out my soule before the Lord.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 1:15:
text: Now will I shortly powre out my furie vpon thee, and accomplish mine anger vpon thee[…]
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 7:8:
text: Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth / With such a full and unwithdrawing hand?
ref: 1637, John Milton, A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, lines 710-711:
text: At the same time, it is pouring money into cleaning up the country.
ref: 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
glosses: To send out as in a stream or a flood; to cause (an emotion) to come out; to cause to escape.
examples: text: Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat?
ref: 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
examples: text: the rain poured down.
text: The rain came pouring down
When I was drownin', that's when I could finally breathe
ref: 2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap, “Clean (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version), performed by Taylor Swift, published 27 October 2023:
glosses: To flow, pass, or issue in a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly.
examples: text: It's pouring outside.
synonyms: spate
glosses: To rain hard.
glosses: Of a beverage, to be on tap or otherwise available for serving to customers.
examples: text: The people poured out of the theater.
text: In the rude throng pour on with furious pace.
ref: 1716, John Gay, Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London:
text: The bluebloods of golf began pouring into the sweltering nation’s capital yesterday for the 64th U.S. Open championship, and the hottest topic was not Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus, but Champagne Tony Lema.
ref: 1964 June 16, “All Eyes On Lema At U.S. Open This Week”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 22:
text: In a breathless finish Arsenal poured forward looking for a winner but Leeds held out for a deserved replay after Bendtner wastefully fired wide and Schmeichel acrobatically kept out Denilson's rasping effort
ref: 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1-1 Leeds”, in BBC:
synonyms: sweep
crowd
throng
glosses: To move in a throng, as a crowd.
Synonyms: sense: pour a drink
word: shink
sense: pour a drink
word: skink
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: couldn't pour water out of a boot
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: downpour
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: inpour
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: it never rains but it pours
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: outpour
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pourable
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour cats and dogs
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour cold water on
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour cold water over
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour dogs and cats
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour down
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour down the drain
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pourer
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour forth
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour fuel on the fire
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour gasoline on the fire
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour good money after bad
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour honey in one's ear
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour honey into one's ear
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour honey on
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour in
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pouringly
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour into
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour oil on troubled waters
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour one out
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour one's heart out
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour one's soul out
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour out
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour out one's heart
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour out one's soul
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour over
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour-over
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour-over will
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: pour with rain
sense: Terms derived from pour (verb)
word: you can't pour from an empty cup