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Definition of pester - 3 dictionary results

pes⋅ter

  [pes-ter]
Use pester in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
2. Obsolete. to overcrowd.
Origin:
1530–40; perh. aph. var. of empester, impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) < MF empestrer to hobble, entangle < VL *impāstōriāre to hobble, equiv. to im- im- 1 + pāstōri(a) a hobble, n. use of L pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre inf. suffix (see pastor ); aph. form appar. reinforced by pest (cf. -er 6 )

Related forms:
pes⋅ter⋅er, noun
pes⋅ter⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
pes⋅ter⋅some, adjective

Synonyms:
1. annoy, vex, tease, disturb; irritate, provoke, plague; badger, harry, hector.

Antonyms:
1. delight, entertain.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pester
pes·ter   (pěs'tər)   
tr.v.   pes·tered, pes·ter·ing, pes·ters
To harass with petty annoyances; bother. See Synonyms at harass.

[Probably short for French empestrer, to constrain, embarrass (probably also influenced by pest), from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *impāstōriāre : Latin in-, in; see in-2 + Vulgar Latin *pāstōria, a hobble, from Latin, feminine of pāstōrius, of a herdsman (from pāstor, herdsman; see pā- in Indo-European roots).]
pes'ter·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pester 
1524, "to clog, entangle, encumber," probably aphetic of M.Fr. empestrer "place in an embarrassing situation" (Fr. empêtrer, Walloon epasturer), from V.L. *impastoriare "to hobble" (an animal), from L. im- "in" + M.L. pastoria (chorda) "rope to hobble an animal," noun use of L. pastoria, fem. of pastorius "of a herdsman," from pastor "herdsman," from pascere "to graze." Sense of "annoy, trouble" (1562) is from influence of pest (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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