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Bother

 - 5 dictionary results

both⋅er

  [both-er]
Use Bother in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to give trouble to; annoy; pester; worry: His baby sister bothered him for candy.
2. to bewilder; confuse: His inability to understand the joke bothered him.
–verb (used without object)
3. to take the trouble; trouble or inconvenience oneself: Don't bother to call. He has no time to bother with trifles.
–noun
4. something troublesome, burdensome, or annoying: Doing the laundry every week can be a terrible bother.
5. effort, work, or worry: Gardening takes more bother than it's worth.
6. a worried or perplexed state: Don't get into such a bother about small matters.
7. someone or something that bothers or annoys: My cousin is a perpetual bother to me.
–interjection
8. Chiefly British. (used to express mild irritation.)
Origin:
1710–20; orig. Hiberno-E; prob. by hypercorrection from bodder, an alternate early form; orig. obscure

Synonyms:
1. harass, vex, irritate; molest, disturb. Bother, annoy, plague, tease imply persistent interference with one's comfort or peace of mind. Bother suggests causing trouble or weariness or repeatedly interrupting in the midst of pressing duties. To annoy is to vex or irritate by bothering. Plague is a strong word, connoting unremitting annoyance and harassment. To tease is to pester, as by long-continued whining and begging.

both

  [bohth]
–adjective
1. one and the other; two together: He met both sisters. Both performances were canceled.
–pronoun
2. the one as well as the other: Both of us were going to the party.
–conjunction
3. alike; equally: He is both ready and willing.
Origin:
1125–75; ME bothe, bathe, influenced by Scand (cf. ON bāthir both; c. G, D beide, Goth ba tho skipa both (the) ships, OHG bêde < *bai thai); r. ME bo, ba, OE bā; c. Goth bai; akin to L ambō, Gk ámphō, Lith abù, Skt ubháu
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Bother
both·er   (bŏth'ər)   
v.   both·ered, both·er·ing, both·ers

v.   tr.

  1. To disturb or anger, especially by minor irritations; annoy. See Synonyms at annoy.

    1. To make agitated or nervous; fluster.

    2. To make confused or perplexed; puzzle.

  3. To intrude on without invitation or warrant; disturb.

  4. To give trouble to: a back condition that bothers her constantly.

v.   intr.

  1. To take the trouble; concern oneself.

  2. To cause trouble.

n.  A cause or state of disturbance.
interj.  Used to express annoyance or mild irritation.

[Probably from dialectal bodder, possibly of Celtic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

both 
There are several theories, all similar, and deriving the word from the tendency to say "both the." One is that it is O.E. begen (masc.) "both" (from P.Gmc. *ba, from PIE *bho "both") + -þ extended base. Another traces it to the P.Gmc. formula represented in O.E. by ba þa "both these," from ba (feminine nominative and accusative of begen) + þa, nominative and accusative plural of se "that." A third traces it to O.N. baðir "both," from *bai thaiz "both the," from P.Gmc. *thaiz, third person plural pronoun.

bother 
1718, probably from Anglo-Irish pother, since its earliest use was by Irish writers Sheridan, Swift, Sterne. Perhaps from Ir. bodhairim "I deafen."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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