mither

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English

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Etymology 1

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Late 17th century, of unknown origin;

The "dd" in Welsh corresponds in sound to the "th" in mither, and English also has moider and moither.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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mither (third-person singular simple present mithers, present participle mithering, simple past and past participle mithered)

  1. (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.
  2. (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
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  • (pester, irritate): Usually describes the actions of a child.
Translations
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Etymology 2

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Variant from Middle English muther, muthir, from Old English mōdor (mother). More at mother.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mither (plural mithers)

  1. (Scotland and Northern England) mother

See also

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References

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  1. ^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “moedro”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Anagrams

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Norman

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Etymology

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From Old French mirer (to look at; to watch), from Latin mīror, mīrārī (be amazed at).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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mither

  1. (Jersey, reflexive, s'mither) to look at oneself in the mirror

Scots

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmɪðər]
  • (Mid Northern Scots, Shetlandic) IPA(key): [ˈmɪdər]
  • (some Central Scots speakers) IPA(key): [ˈmʌɫər]

Noun

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mither (plural mithers)

  1. 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

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References

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