pour

Etymology 1

From Middle English pouren (“to pour”), of uncertain origin. Likely to be of Celtic origin, from Celtic base *purr- (“to jerk, throw (water)”), akin to Welsh bwrw (“to cast, strike, rain”), Scottish Gaelic purr (“to push, thrust, urge, drive”), Irish purraim (“I push, I jerk”). Compare also the rare Dutch pouren (“to pour”). Displaced Middle English schenchen, Middle English schenken (“to pour”) (from Old English sċenċan (“to pour out”), whence dialectal English shink, and Old Norse skenkja, whence dialectal English skink, and akin to Dutch schenken (“to pour; to gift”)), Middle English ȝeoten, Middle English yetten (“to pour”) (from Old English ġēotan (“to pour”) and akin to German gießen (“to pour”)), Middle English birlen (“to pour, serve drink to”) (from Old English byrelian (“to pour, serve drink to”)), Middle English hellen (“to pour, pour out”) (from Old Norse hella (“to pour out, incline”)). Largely displaced English teem, from Middle English temen (“to pour out, empty”) (from Old Norse tœma (“to pour out, empty”)).

verb

1. (transitive) To cause (liquid, or liquid-like substance) to flow in a stream, either out of a container or into it.
   pour water from a jug
   pour wine into a decanter
   to pour oil onto chips
   to pour out sand or dust.
2. (transitive, figurative) To send out as in a stream or a flood; to cause (an emotion) to come out; to cause to escape.
   My teacher poured scorn on my attempts at writing.
   Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth / With such a full and unwithdrawing hand? 1637, John Milton, A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, lines 710-711
   At the same time, it is pouring money into cleaning up the country. 2013-08-10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
3. (transitive) To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.
4. (intransitive) To flow, pass or issue in a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly.
   the rain poured down.
5. (impersonal) To rain hard.
   It's pouring outside.
6. (intransitive) Of a beverage, to be on tap or otherwise available for serving to customers.
7. (intransitive) To move in a throng, as a crowd.
   The people poured out of the theater.
   In the rude throng pour on with furious pace. 1716, John Gay, Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London
   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. 1964-06-16, “All Eyes On Lema At U.S. Open This Week”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 22
   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 January 8, 2011, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1-1 Leeds”, in BBC

noun

1. The act of pouring.
   The bartender's inexpert pour left me with a pint of beer that was half foam.
2. Something, or an amount, poured.
   Over this time period, the first concrete pour has not only lost workability but has started to set so that it is no longer affected by the action of a vibrator. 2003, John Brian Newman, B. S. Choo, Advanced concrete technology: Volume 2
   HS2 Ltd has completed the first base-slab concrete pour at the western end of Old Oak Common station. June 14 2023, “Network News: Concrete for Old Oak Common - and consent for Curzon Street viaduct”, in RAIL, number 985, page 22
3. (colloquial) A downpour, or flood of precipitation.
   Then, as if to give the lie to the offensive insinuation, he mounted his horse, and rode home ten miles in a pour of rain, without a great coat or umbrella. 1831, Susan Ferrier, Destiny; or, the Chief's Daughter, page 84

Etymology 2

verb

1. Misspelling of pore.