word mither/moither

[srobinson]

Hi,

I am researching the origin of the word moither/mither (to pester) for a uni assignment. Can anyone tell me if the word is used in this context in Scotland as in - 'stop moithering me ! I have heard that the word is the same as for the Scots word for mother. Any ideas? Many thanks.

[Polwarth]

Auld Scots/Lallans for mother is Mih ther (mi as in mister) - whilst 'stop mithering me' is my ther.

[wullie m]

Don't think this is Scots, I've heard it in NW England, "Quit Mitherin!" etc'

wullie.

[PeterSandy]

Originally Posted by srobinson

Hi,

I am researching the origin of the word moither/mither (to pester) for a uni assignment. Can anyone tell me if the word is used in this context in Scotland as in - 'stop moithering me ! I have heard that the word is the same as for the Scots word for mother. Any ideas? Many thanks.

Consult, or even join, The Northumbrian Language Society. Note the following:
"It is important to realise that the border between England and Scotland is political and not cultural. The people on both sides of it are of the same basic racial stock - Anglian, and they speak the same basic language - Northumbrian." Read the rest of this illuminating link:
Northumbrian Language Society

The dialect currently spoken in north-eastern England is, to my ear, the most pleasant of all English dialects.

[Duthill]

mither: To bother, pester, hassle, harass, worry, fatigue.
Pronounced MY-thuh, this is a colloquial term current in the North and Midlands areas of England,
and is often applied to fretful children.
Example: Stop mithering, Johnny, we'll be home soon.
Johnny kept mithering me all afternoon.


And /Or

mither, also moider, moither
to confuse; to work hard; to wander in thought



See also mither, moider and moither at Wiktionary

Late 17th century, unknown origin, possibly Welsh moedrodd to worry or bother. Possible alternative from the Welsh meidda (“to beg for whey”) or perhaps meiddio (“to dare or venture”). Bear in mind that the "dd" in Welsh corresponds in sound to the "th" in mither, and English also has moider and moither.

[SeamusAlba]

Originally Posted by PeterSandy

Consult, or even join, The Northumbrian Language Society. Note the following:
"It is important to realise that the border between England and Scotland is political and not cultural. The people on both sides of it are of the same basic racial stock - Anglian, and they speak the same basic language - Northumbrian." Read the rest of this illuminating link:
Northumbrian Language Society

The dialect currently spoken in north-eastern England is, to my ear, the most pleasant of all English dialects.

Mine as well, and if they stopped insisting on calling it "the Scots language" and chose a better more inclusive name for it, it would be less of an insult to Gaels. It could be called Lallans, Scots Northumbrian, Lowland Scots, Inglis or Lowland, none of these names have the same association to the deliberate suppression of Gaelic that the usurpation of the original name for Gaelic in both Northumbrian English and other English forms have had. It is in my view an English language with a seperate national history but one that has regrettably been tainted by bigotry and oppression for Scottish Gaelic society and this can be amended by greater cross cultural appreciations and a review of current linguistic nomenclature forthwith.

[Polwarth]

It's touching how much interest you foreigners take in the languages of Scotland.