bother

English Online Dictionary. What means bother‎? What does bother mean?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots bauther, bather (“to bother”). Origin unknown. Perhaps related to Scots pother (“to make a stir or commotion, bustle”), also of unknown origin. Compare English pother (“to poke, prod”), variant of potter (“to poke”). More at potter. Perhaps related to Irish bodhaire (“noise”), Irish bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).

Pronunciation

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔðə(ɹ)/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɒðə(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: bŏʹ-thər IPA^(key): /ˈbɑðɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɒðə(ɹ)

Verb

bother (third-person singular simple present bothers, present participle bothering, simple past and past participle bothered)

1. (transitive) To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.

   Synonyms: annoy, disturb, inconvenience, irritate, put out, vex; see also Thesaurus:annoy

2. (intransitive or reflexive) To feel care or concern; to burden or inconvenience oneself out of concern.

   Synonyms: care, mind; see also Thesaurus:care
3. (intransitive, catenative) To take the trouble, to trouble oneself (to do something).

   Synonyms: go to the trouble, take the trouble

   1. To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.

Usage notes

• In sense 3 this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive or the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Descendants

• →⇒ Irish: badráil
• → Jersey Dutch: boddere

Translations

Noun

bother (countable and uncountable, plural bothers)

1. Fuss, ado.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:commotion
2. Trouble, inconvenience.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nuisance

Translations

Interjection

bother!

1. A mild expression of annoyance.
   • 1926, A A Milne, Winnie the Pooh, Methuen & Co., Ltd., Chapter 2 ...in which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place:

     "Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."

     "Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."

     "I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother!"

Synonyms

• botheration, blast, dang (US), darn, drat, phooey, fiddlesticks

Translations

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

• Hobert, boreth

Fingallian

Etymology

Derived from Irish bodhar, bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).

Verb

bother

1. to annoy with sound, to deafen

References

• J. J. Hogan and Patrick C. O'Neill (1947) Béaloideas Iml. 17, Uimh 1/2, An Cumann Le Béaloideas Eireann/Folklore of lreland Society, page 264