Dictionary

pother en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɒðə/
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpʌðə/

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Compare Dutch peuteren (“to rummage, poke”), and English potter, pudder.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A commotion, a tempest.
   • After some years there came a time when the Queen seemed to be ill and there was a great deal of bustle and pother about her in the castle and doctors came and the courtiers whispered. 1951, C. S. Lewis, chapter 5, in Prince Caspian, Collins, published 1998:
   • (name of the article) Flight Of Hess Causes Pother Among Germans 1941, Lewiston Morning Tribune, 14th of May
   • Let the great gods, / That keep this dreadful pother o’er our heads, / Find out their enemies now. c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

Forms

Translations (6)

bg смут (a commotion, a tempest) · pl rwetes (a commotion, a tempest) · ru шу́м (a commotion, a tempest) · ru волне́ние (a commotion, a tempest) · ru сумато́ха (a commotion, a tempest) · bg суматоха (a commotion, a tempest)

pother en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɒðə/
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpʌðə/

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Compare Dutch peuteren (“to rummage, poke”), and English potter, pudder.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To make a bustle or stir; to be fussy.
2. (transitive) To puzzle or perplex.

Forms