pester

English

Etymology

In the senses of “overcrowd (a place)” and “impede (a person)”: from Middle French and Old French empestrer (encumber), influenced by English pest. The modern sense is an extension of the sense “infest”. Comparable to English construction pest + -er (used to form frequentative verbs).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɛstə(ɹ)/
  • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɛstɚ/, [ˈpʰɛstɚ]
  • Rhymes: -ɛstə(ɹ)

Verb

pester (third-person singular simple present pesters, present participle pestering, simple past and past participle pestered)

  1. (transitive) To bother, harass, or annoy persistently.
    He pestered me with questions.
    She pestered him to help her.
  2. (obsolete, transitive and intransitive) To crowd together thickly.
    • 1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, [], London: [] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] [], →OCLC, pages 5–6:
      That which eſpecialleſt nouriſht the moſt prime pleaſure in me, was after a ſtorme when they were driuen inſwarmes, and lay close peſtred together as thicke as they could packe; the next day following, if it were faire, they would cloud the whole skie with canuas, by ſpreading their drabled ſailes in the full clue abroad a drying, and make a brauer ſhew with them, then ſo many banners and ſtreamers diſplayed againſt the Sunne on a mountaine top.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

pester (plural pesters)

  1. A bother or nuisance.
    • 2017, Samuel J. Archer, Will There Be Another Lincoln, Nixon, Johnson or Kennedy?, page 15:
      By now I presumed I had become a real pester.

Anagrams

Breton

Noun

pester

  1. plural of post

Dutch

Etymology

From pesten + -er.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɛs.tər/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: pes‧ter

Noun

pester m (plural pesters, diminutive pestertje n)

  1. A bully (person who bullies or pesters somebody).

Synonyms

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From peste + -er.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɛs.te/
  • (file)

Verb

pester

  1. to rant, curse, fulminate

Conjugation

Further reading

Anagrams

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

pester m or f

  1. indefinite plural of pest

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

Noun

pester m or f

  1. indefinite feminine plural of pest

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *pьstrъ (variegated).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pèːstər/

Adjective

pẹ́stər (comparative pẹ́strejši, superlative nȁjpẹ́strejši)

  1. colourful, variegated

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Hard
masculine feminine neuter
nom. sing. péster péstra péstro
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative péster ind
péstri def
péstra péstro
genitive péstrega péstre péstrega
dative péstremu péstri péstremu
accusative nominativeinan or
genitive
anim
péstro péstro
locative péstrem péstri péstrem
instrumental péstrim péstro péstrim
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative péstra péstri péstri
genitive péstrih péstrih péstrih
dative péstrima péstrima péstrima
accusative péstra péstri péstri
locative péstrih péstrih péstrih
instrumental péstrima péstrima péstrima
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative péstri péstre péstra
genitive péstrih péstrih péstrih
dative péstrim péstrim péstrim
accusative péstre péstre péstra
locative péstrih péstrih péstrih
instrumental péstrimi péstrimi péstrimi

Further reading

  • pester”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
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