powder

B1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈpaʊdɚ/ UK /ˈpaʊ.də(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #3692

Meanings

1

noun
A dry substance made of very fine particles.

Add a spoonful of cocoa powder to the milk.
2

verb
To put powder onto a surface or part of the body.

She powdered her face before going out.
3

verb
To crush something into a fine powder.

The machine powders the dried herbs.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 verb · to crush something into a... grind pulverize pound

Word family

Forms powderedpowderingpowders

Derived forms overpowderpowderablepowdererrepowder

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

powder metallurgy
the production of solid metal objects from metal powders

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

dry powder
cash reserves kept ready to invest when opportunities appear

Simplified etymology

Powder entered English in the Middle Ages through Old French poudre and ultimately comes from Latin pulvis, “dust.”

Etymology

From Middle English poudre, pouder, pouldre, borrowed from Old French poudre, poldre, puldre, from Latin pulverem, accusative singular of Latin pulvis (“dust, powder”). Doublet of pulver. Compare pollen (“fine flour”), polverine, pulverize.

poudre Middle English pulverem Latin pulvis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# powder

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpaʊdɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpaʊ.də(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 3692

## Meanings
1. A dry substance made of very fine particles.
2. To put powder onto a surface or part of the body.
3. To crush something into a fine powder.

## Examples
- Add a spoonful of cocoa powder to the milk.
- She powdered her face before going out.
- The machine powders the dried herbs.

## Derived Forms
- overpowder
- powderable
- powderer
- repowder

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: poudre
- Root: pulverem
- Root: pulvis

## Etymology
From Middle English poudre, pouder, pouldre, borrowed from Old French poudre, poldre, puldre, from Latin pulverem, accusative singular of Latin pulvis (“dust, powder”). Doublet of pulver. Compare pollen (“fine flour”), polverine, pulverize.

## AI Etymology
Powder comes from Middle English poudre, pouder, pouldre, borrowed from Old French poudre, poldre, puldre, from Latin pulverem, accusative singular of Latin pulvis (“dust, powder”). Doublet of pulver. Compare pollen (“fine flour”), polverine, pulverize. In present-day English it covers a dry substance made of very fine particles, to put powder onto a surface or part of the body, and to crush something into a fine powder. The wider family includes derived forms such as overpowder, powderable, powderer, repowder.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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