# mither
## English
### Etymology 1

Late 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.
* 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

* IPA: /ˈmaɪðə(ɹ)/
* Rhymes: -aɪðə(ɹ)

#### 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.
** 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

* (pester, irritate): Usually describes the actions of a child.

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɪðə(ɹ)/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)

#### Noun

mither (plural mithers)
* (Scotland and Northern England) mother

### See also

* mithered

### References

* ↑ 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

* hermit

## Norman
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* Audio (Jersey):(file)

### Verb

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

## Scots
### Alternative forms

* medder
* midder, moder, moeder (Shetland)
* mideer, mother

### Etymology

Inherited from Middle English moder, from Old English mōdor.

### Pronunciation

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

### 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?'(please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### 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”)

### References

* “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.