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pother

[poth -er]
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noun
  1. commotion; uproar.
  2. a heated discussion, debate, or argument; fuss; to-do.
  3. a choking or suffocating cloud, as of smoke or dust.
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to worry; bother.
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Origin of pother

First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pother

Historical Examples

  • Why, that here is a deal of pother about some foolish words.

    The Strolling Saint

    Raphael Sabatini

  • If you can give no help, spare drowning me with your pother.

    St. Ronan's Well

    Sir Walter Scott

  • But the Poltroon with the white wig was not out of his Pother yet.

  • Never was a man's life cut short with less solemnity or pother.

  • Now, what is there about Rooney's to inspire all this pother?

British Dictionary definitions for pother

pother

noun
  1. a commotion, fuss, or disturbance
  2. a choking cloud of smoke, dust, etc
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verb
  1. to make or be troubled or upset
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Word Origin

C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pother

n.

1590s, "disturbance, commotion," of unknown origin. Meaning "mental trouble" is from 1640s; verb sense of "to fluster" is attested from 1690s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper