Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

flother

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: flother
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Countable

noun

A state of agitation or disarray, a lather.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"They lived in Flother (as Flodder Hall was formerly known)."
"[…] flothers […] The Flothers"
"Flothers, near Slaley […] f. houses and land, Flothers"
"[…] the homesteads and hamlets […] of Ryal or Ryehill, Pry, Flothers, Peel-flat, Comb-hills, Swangs, Cocklake, Palmstrothers, Black Strothers, […]"
"[…] by a horse Gin and Pit 13 fms. deep (South of Flothers Wood). West of Pilmuir Wood it was also worked by an Engine Pit 11 fms . deep , but the workings were abandoned owing to heavy water , without a plan having been made."
"FLODDER BECK (affluent of the Mint in Docker, SD 59 SE), 1857 OS. Probably, like Flodder Hall and Flodder(s) (i, 83, 130, ii, 41, infra), and Brackenber Flodders (ii, 104 infra), from a dial. form of flother, fludder, which may well be from an OE *flōdor 'channel' suggested for the 12th-century Floder (YW iv, 86). […] Flother 1704, 1710 PR, from OE *flōdor 'channel' as in Flodder Beck (i, 7 supra)."

Etymology

Uncertain. The English Place-Name Society suggests that the word (at least in the sense "bog") derives from Old English *flōdor (“channel”), related to flōd (“flowing; stream; flood”), and the DSL too speculates that the word (and its synonymous Scots cognate, attested since 1611) might be related to Scots flude, English flood. Alternatively, it might be related to Scots fluther, English flutter. Perhaps also compare floter (“float”). Dialect dictionaries record several other (now rare or otherwise unattested) senses, including "nonsensical talk" (which is more often found in the form vlother) and "snowflake".

Usage

Inflected Forms

flothers (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

flodder

Questions

What does flother mean?: A miry bog.
Where does flother come from?: Uncertain. The English Place-Name Society suggests that the word (at least in the sense "bog") derives from Old English *flōdor (“channel”), related to flōd (“flowing; stream; flood”), and the DSL too speculates that the word (and its synonymous Scots cognate, attested since 1611) might be related to Scots flude, English flood. Alternatively, it might be related to Scots fluther, English flutter. Perhaps also compare floter (“float”). Dialect dictionaries record several other (now rare or otherwise unattested) senses, including "nonsensical talk" (which is more often found in the form vlother) and "snowflake".

How to pronounce flother

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