bother

bother
\ \ [18] When the word bother first turns up in English in the first half of the 18th century, it is largely in the writings of Irishmen, such as Thomas Sheridan and Jonathan Swift. This has naturally led to speculation that the word may be of Irish origin, but no thoroughly convincing candidate has been found. The superficially similar Irish Gaelic bodhardeaf, afflicted’ is more alike in spelling than pronunciation.
\ \ Another suggestion is that it may represent an Irish way of saying pother [16], an archaic word for ‘commotion’ which is itself of unknown origin.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Bother — may refer to:* Bother (song), a 2003 hard rock song * Bother! The Brain of Pooh , a one man show …   Wikipedia

  • bother — [n] trouble, inconvenience ado, aggravation, annoyance, anxiety, bellyache*, botheration, bustle, care, concern, difficulty, distress, drag*, exasperation, flurry, fuss, headache*, irritant, irritation, molestation, nudge, nuisance, pain, pain in …   New thesaurus

  • bother — ► VERB 1) take the trouble to do. 2) worry, disturb, or upset. 3) (bother with/about) feel concern about or interest in. ► NOUN 1) trouble and fuss. 2) (a bother) a cause of trouble or fuss …   English terms dictionary

  • Bother — Both er, n. One who, or that which, bothers; state of perplexity or annoyance; embarrassment; worry; disturbance; petty trouble; as, to be in a bother. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bother — [bäth′ər] vt. [earlier bodder (in SWIFT Jonathan); prob. Anglo Ir for POTHER] 1. to worry or trouble, esp. with petty annoyances; harass, pester, etc. 2. to bewilder or fluster 3. to cause discomfort to [her sore foot bothers her] 4. to disturb;… …   English World dictionary

  • Bother — Both er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bothered} (?); p. pr. & vb. n. {Bothering}.] [Cf. Ir. buaidhirt trouble, buaidhrim I vex.] To annoy; to trouble; to worry; to perplex. See {Pother}. [1913 Webster] Note: The imperative is sometimes used as an… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bother — Both er, v. i. To feel care or anxiety; to make or take trouble; to be troublesome. [1913 Webster] Without bothering about it. H. James. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bother — index aggravate (annoy), annoy, badger, bait (harass), burden, care (regard) …   Law dictionary

  • bother — (v.) 1718, probably from Anglo Irish pother, since its earliest use was by Irish writers Sheridan, Swift, Sterne. Perhaps from Ir. bodhairim I deafen. Related: Bothered; bothering. As a noun from 1803 …   Etymology dictionary

  • bother — vb vex, *annoy, irk Analogous words: *worry, harass, harry, pester, tease, tantalize: interfere, *meddle, tamper: *puzzle, perplex, distract: trouble, inconvenience, incommode, discommode Antonyms: comfort Contrasted words: solace, console (see… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • bother — both|er1 W3S1 [ˈbɔðə US ˈba:ðər] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(make an effort)¦ 2¦(worry)¦ 3¦(annoy)¦ 4 somebody can t/couldn t be bothered (to do something) 5¦(cause pain)¦ 6 sorry to bother you 7¦(frighten)¦ 8 not bother yourself/not bother your head 9 bother… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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