mither
English
editEtymology 1
editLate 17th century, of unknown origin;
- Possibly related to Middle English bemothered (“confused, perplexed”), itself probably related to Old English mēþe (“exhausting, troublesome”), Old Norse móðr (“angry, frustrated”), Middle Dutch moeden (“to tire, exhaust, disturb, trouble”).
- 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”).
The "dd" in Welsh corresponds in sound to the "th" in mither, and English also has moider and moither.
Pronunciation
editVerb
editmither (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.
- 11 June 2019, “Women's World Cup: England v Argentina – Keira Walsh 'inspired' by opponents”, in BBC Sport:
- "Every night after work I'd mither [pester] my dad to take me out into the field and practise. There were definitely times when he didn't want to do it, but he never said no.
Usage notes
edit- (pester, irritate): Usually describes the actions of a child.
Translations
editintransitive: to mither
|
transitive to mither
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Etymology 2
editVariant from Middle English muther, muthir, from Old English mōdor (“mother”). More at mother.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈmɪðə(ɹ)/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
Noun
editmither (plural mithers)
- (Scotland and Northern England) mother
See also
editReferences
editAnagrams
editNorman
editEtymology
editFrom Old French mirer (“to look at; to watch”), from Latin mīror, mīrārī (“be amazed at”).
Pronunciation
editVerb
editmither
Scots
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editInherited from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): [ˈmɪðər]
- (Mid Northern Scots, Shetlandic) IPA(key): [ˈmɪdər]
- (some Central Scots speakers) IPA(key): [ˈmʌɫər]
Noun
editmither (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?'
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Derived terms
edit- 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”)
References
edit- “mither”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
- “mither, n., v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
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