mither
/ˈmʌɪðə
/verb [no object] dialect, chiefly Northern English
1Make a fuss; moan: oh men—don’t they mither?...
- But what's the point of endlessly mithering on about that?
- Once, on holiday in Leeds, it was pouring with rain and me and my brother were mithering because we were bored, so Dad decided we'd go to the central bus depot and catch the first bus that came in.
- We can tut, mither, and blame them for why our athletes are absolutely rubbish.
1.1 [with object] Pester or irritate (someone): the pile of bills would mither her whenever she felt good...
- What I cannot deal with is mithering colleagues who constantly bombard you with their insane comments or ways of working.
- He's like a sulky teenager if you try to shift him before 6.20 am during the week, but if you're not out of bed and getting his breakfast by 6.30 at the weekend, he comes mithering me to get up.
- I really want to ring Helena, but I feel as though I have been mithering her too much recently.
Origin
Late 17th century: of unknown origin; compare with Welsh moedrodd 'to worry, bother'.