pester
[ pes-ter ]
/ ˈpɛs tər /
verb (used with object)
to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
Obsolete.
to overcrowd.
Origin of pester
1530–40; perhaps aphetic variant of
empester,
impester to tangle, encumber (though
pester is found earlier than these 2 words) < Middle French
empestrer to hobble, entangle < Vulgar Latin
*impāstōriāre to hobble, equivalent to
im-
im-1 +
pāstōri(a) a hobble, noun use of Latin
pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd +
-āre infinitive suffix (see
pastor); aphetic form apparently reinforced by
pest (cf.
-er6)
SYNONYMS FOR pester
OTHER WORDS FROM pester
pes·ter·er, noun pes·ter·ing·ly, adverb pes·ter·some, adjective un·pes·tered, adjectiveWords nearby pester
pessimistic,
pessoa,
pest,
pest house,
pestalozzi,
pester,
pester power,
pesthole,
pesthouse,
pesticide,
pestiferous
Example sentences from the Web for pestering
British Dictionary definitions for pestering
pester
/ (ˈpɛstə) /
verb
(tr)
to annoy or nag continually
Derived forms of pester
pesterer, noun pesteringly, adverbWord Origin for pester
C16: from Old French
empestrer to hobble (a horse), from Vulgar Latin
impāstōriāre (unattested) to use a hobble, from
pāstōria (unattested) a hobble, from Latin
pāstōrius relating to a herdsman, from
pastor herdsman