Brewer's: Bother

i.e. pother (Hibernian). Halliwell gives us blother, which he says means to chatter idly.

`Sir,' cries the umpire, `cease your pother, The creature's neither one nor t'other.' 

Lloyd: The Chameleon.

The Irish bódhar (buaidhirt, trouble), or its cognate verb, to deafen, seems to be the original word.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language