Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday May 8, 2012
pother \POTH-er\
, noun:
1. A heated discussion, debate, or argument; fuss; to-do.
2. Commotion; uproar.
3. A choking or suffocating cloud, as of smoke or dust.
verb:
1. To worry; bother.
"An' why all the pother?" Mrs. Rickards emitted a series of sniffs and returned his scowl with a frosty glare.
-- Colin Arthur Roderick, The Lady and the Lawyer
I don't know what's so extraordinary about it, or why there should be such a pother.
-- William Dean Howells, Novels 1886-1888, Volume 2
Pother is of unknown origin. It is not related to the word bother which did not enter English until the 1700s and is related to the word both.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for pother
