Pother
[PAH-thər]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Unknown, late 16th century
1.
A commotion or fuss.
Examples of Pother in a sentence
"Andrew does his grocery shopping when the stores open to avoid the pother of rush-hour shoppers."
"Despite the different ages of the campers, it was a relaxing week with no pother to speak of."
About Pother
The etymological origin of “pother” is unclear. It may be related to the Dutch “peuteren” (meaning “to rummage” or “poke”), but it also bears resemblance to the English “potter” (meaning “to prod”) or “pudder” (meaning “to make a fuss”).
Did you Know?
While “pother” is a close synonym for “bother” (“worry, effort, or difficulty"), it actually entered English a few centuries earlier. It’s related to a couple of other early English words: “potter” (meaning “to prod”) and “pudder” (meaning “to fuss”), but like “pother,” these have mostly fallen out of use in modern English. What a pother, indeed.
