mither
English
Etymology 1
Late 17th century, of unknown origin;
- Possibly allied to Welsh moedro (“to worry or bother”), though according to the GPC, the latter is borrowed from English.[1]
- Alternatively, possibly tied to Welsh meidda (“to beg for whey”), from maidd (“whey”).
- Perhaps from Welsh meiddio (“to dare or venture”), a variant of beiddio (“to dare”).
Bear in mind that the "dd" in Welsh corresponds in sound to the "th" in mither, and English also has moider and moither.
Pronunciation
Verb
mither (third-person singular simple present mithers, present participle mithering, simple past and past participle mithered)
- (intransitive, Northern England, especially Manchester) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan, bother.
- 6 February 2020, “The parable of the plug”, in The Economist:
- The European Commission is pondering how to compel phone companies to come up with a universal plug for their chargers. Apple, which uses its own design for its charger cables, is mithering about the change.
- (transitive, Northern England, especially Manchester) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at children.
- Will you stop mithering me!
Translations
intransitive: to mither
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transitive to mither
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Etymology 2
Variant from Middle English muther, muthir, from Old English mōdor (“mother”). More at mother.
Pronunciation
Noun
mither (plural mithers)
- (Scotland and Northern England) mother
References
Anagrams
Norman
Etymology
From Old French mirer (“to look at; to watch”), from Latin mīror, mīrārī (“be amazed at”).
Pronunciation
Audio (Jersey): (file)
Verb
mither
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor.
Pronunciation
Noun
mither (plural mithers)
- mother
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
- 'There you gang,' she cries, 'broking wi' thae wearifu' Pharisees o' Caulds, whae daurna darken your mither's door! A bonnie dutiful child, quotha! Wumman, hae ye nae pride, or even the excuse o' a tinkler-lass?'
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
Derived terms
- clocks-mither (“a hen with chickens”)
- grandmither (“grandmother”)
- guid-mither (“mother-in-law”)
- mither tongue (“mother tongue, native language”)
- mither wit (“native wit”)
- mither-brither (“maternal uncle”)
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