bother

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots bauther, bather (“to bother”). Origin unknown. Perhaps related to Scots pother (“to make a stir or commotion, bustle”), also of unknown origin. Compare English pother (“to poke, prod”), variant of potter (“to poke”). More at potter. Perhaps related to Irish bodhaire (“noise”), Irish bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).

Pronunciation

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔðə(ɹ)/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɒðə(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: bŏʹ-thər IPA^(key): /ˈbɑðɚ/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒðə(ɹ)

Verb

bother (third-person singular simple present bothers, present participle bothering, simple past and past participle bothered)

1. (transitive) To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.

   Synonyms: annoy, disturb, inconvenience, irritate, put out, vex; see also Thesaurus:annoy, Thesaurus:upset

   Would it bother you if I smoked?

2. (intransitive or reflexive) To feel care or concern; to burden or inconvenience oneself out of concern.

   Synonyms: care, mind; see also Thesaurus:care

   I never bother about such trivialities.

   I wouldn't bother with an umbrella if I were you.

   • 1876 July, Henry James, Jr., chapter V, in The American, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, […], published 5 May 1877, →OCLC, page 87:

     To expand, without bothering about it—without shiftless timidity on one side, or loquacious eagerness on the other—to the full compass of what he would have called a "pleasant" experience, was Newman's most definite programme of life.

3. (intransitive, catenative) To take the trouble, to trouble oneself (to do something).

   Synonyms: go to the trouble, take the trouble

   Why do I even bother to try?

   1. To do something which is of negligible inconvenience.

      You didn’t even bother to close the door.

Usage notes

• In sense 3 this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive or the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Descendants

• →⇒ Irish: badráil
• → Jersey Dutch: boddere

Translations

to annoy, to disturb, to be troublesome to

• Afrikaans: pla, steur
• Albanian: shqetësoj (sq)
• Arabic: أزْعَجَ
• Armenian: խանգարել (hy) (xangarel)
• Azerbaijani: narahat etmək
• Bulgarian: безпокоя (bg) (bezpokoja), дразня (bg) (draznja), досаждам (bg) (dosaždam)
• Catalan: molestar (ca), disturbar, perturbar
• Cherokee: ᎠᏕᏯᏙᏗᎭ (adeyadodiha)
• Chinese:

  Dungan: мафан (mafan)

  Hokkien: 麻煩／麻烦 (zh-min-nan), 齪嘈／龊嘈 (zh-min-nan)

  Mandarin: 煩擾／烦扰 (zh) (fánrǎo), 麻煩／麻烦 (zh) (máfan)

• Czech: vadit (cs)
• Dutch: storen (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝeni (eo), malordigi, perturbi
• Estonian: tüütama, tülitama
• Finnish: häiritä (fi), vaivata (fi), kiusata (fi), haitata (fi)
• French: bâdrer (fr) (Canada, Louisiane), déranger (fr), embêter (fr), gêner (fr)
• Galician: amolar (gl), aburar (gl), mornear (gl), gravecer
• Georgian: გაღიზიანება (gaɣizianeba)
• German: stören (de), nerven (de)
• Gothic: 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (draibjan)
• Greek: ενοχλώ (el) (enochló)

  Ancient: ἐνοχλῶ (enokhlô), ὀχλέω (okhléō), σκύλλω (skúllō)

• Haitian Creole: deranje
• Hebrew: הפריע
• Hungarian: zavar (hu), (of a person, deliberately) zaklat (hu), alkalmatlankodik (hu)
• Icelandic: ergja, angra
• Ingrian: kiusata, rangata
• Irish: cuir isteach ar
• Italian: disturbare (it), infastidire (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Ladin: dé mpaz, sciaché
• Latvian: traucēt
• Macedonian: пре́чи (préči), возне́мири pf (voznémiri), вознеми́рува impf (voznemíruva), до́саѓа (dósaǵa)
• Maori: whakapōnānā, whakararuraru, whakahōhā
• Norwegian: forstyrre (no), plage (no), bry (no), irritere (no)
• Oromo: rakkisuu
• Polish: niepokoić (pl), naprzykrzać się (pl)
• Portuguese: incomodar (pt), chatear (pt)
• Romanian: deranja (ro), incomoda (ro), necăji (ro), supăra (ro)
• Russian: беспоко́ить (ru) (bespokóitʹ)
• Sanskrit: बाधति (bādhati)
• Scottish Gaelic: sàraich, buair, cuir dragh air
• Serbo-Croatian: smetati (sh)
• Slovene: nadlegováti
• Spanish: molestar (es), agobiar (es), brear (es), cargosear (es), fastidiar (es)
• Swedish: störa (sv)
• Tamil: படுத்து (ta) (paṭuttu)
• Thai: รบกวน (th) (róp-guuan), กวน (th) (guuan), กวนใจ
• Turkish: rahatsız etmek (tr), canını sıkmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: турбува́ти (turbuváty)
• Uzbek: bezovta qilmoq
• Venetan: dar fastidio, ronper
• Vietnamese: quấy rầy (vi)

to feel care or concern

• Russian: беспоко́иться (ru) impf (bespokóitʹsja), трево́житься (ru) impf (trevóžitʹsja)
• Spanish: molestarse en, tomarse la molestia de
• Ukrainian: турбува́тися impf (turbuvátysja)

to take the trouble, to trouble oneself to do something

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: كلف (kallif)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 費事／费事 (zh) (fèishì)

• Dutch: moeite doen
• Estonian: vaevuma (et), vaeva nägema
• Finnish: jaksaa (fi), vaivautua (fi), viitsiä (fi), huvittaa (fi)
• French: bâdrer (fr) (Quebec)
• Hebrew: טרח (he), הטריח את עצמו
• Hungarian: veszi a fáradságot
• Italian: disturbarsi (it), prendersi la briga, preoccuparsi (it)
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: whakatōwenewene
• Norwegian: gidde (no)
• Portuguese: dar-se ao trabalho
• Spanish: molestarse en, tomarse la molestia de
• Thai: ก่อกวน (th)
• Venetan: preocuparse

to do something which is of negligible inconvenience

• Estonian: vaevuma (et)
• Finnish: viitsiä (fi), jaksaa (fi)
• French: daigner (fr), se donner la peine (fr)
• Hebrew: טרח (he)
• Hungarian: veszi a fáradságot
• Italian: preoccuparsi (it), disturbarsi (it), prendersi la briga, degnarsi
• Norwegian: gidde (no)
• Portuguese: dar-se ao trabalho
• Russian: утруждать себя (utruždatʹ sebja)
• Spanish: molestarse en, tomarse la molestia de
• Swedish: bry sig om (sv), idas (sv)
• Welsh: trafferthu (cy), ymdrafferthu

Noun

bother (countable and uncountable, plural bothers)

1. Fuss, ado.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:commotion

   There was a bit of bother at the hairdresser's when they couldn't find my appointment in the book.

   • 2015 January 18, Monty Munford, “What’s the point of carrying a mobile phone nowadays?”, in The Daily Telegraph‎^[1]:

     It was a 15-minute return trip to walk back home to pick up my device, but I weighed it up and decided that it wasn’t worth the bother.

2. Trouble, inconvenience.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nuisance

   Yes, I can do that for you—it’s no bother.

Translations

fuss, ado

• Albanian: shqetësim (sq) m
• Bashkir: мәшәҡәт (məşəqət)
• Bulgarian: грижи (bg) pl (griži), безпокойство (bg) (bezpokojstvo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬧騰／闹腾 (zh) (nàoténg)

• Danish: mas
• Finnish: hälinä (fi), mekkala (fi)
• German: Umstände (de) m pl, Schwierigkeiten (de) f pl
• Hungarian: nyaggatás (hu), alkalmatlankodás (hu)
• Icelandic: vesen (is) n
• Irish: stró m
• Italian: confusione (it) f, trambusto (it) m, agitazione (it) f
• Kabuverdianu: ingisu
• Macedonian: гри́жи pl (gríži), беспо́којство n (bespókojstvo)
• Norwegian: kluss, bry (no), mas
• Romanian: agitație (ro) f, îngrijorare (ro) f
• Spanish: escándalo (es) n, alboroto (es) n, tumulto (es) n, jaleo (es) n, quilombo (es) n
• Ukrainian: хвилюва́тися (xvyljuvátysja), турбува́тися (turbuvátysja)

trouble, inconvenience

• Afrikaans: moeite
• Albanian: shqetësim (sq)
• Bashkir: мәшәҡәт (məşəqət)
• Bulgarian: неприятности (bg) pl (neprijatnosti)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 麻煩／麻烦 (zh) (máfán)

• Dutch: moeite (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝenaĵo
• Estonian: tülin, nuhtlus
• Finnish: vaiva (fi), häiriö (fi)
• Georgian: შეწუხება (šec̣uxeba), მობეზრება (mobezreba), თავის მოწყენა (tavis moc̣q̇ena)
• Hebrew: טרחה (he) f (t'irkha)
• Hungarian: gond (hu), fáradság (hu), vesződség (hu), kellemetlenség (hu), baj (hu), nyűg (hu), bosszúság (hu)
• Icelandic: vesen (is) n, mál (is) n, vandamál (is) n
• Italian: fastidio (it) m, incomodo (it) m, seccatura (it) f, problema (it) m
• Japanese: 邪魔 (ja) (jama)
• Kabuverdianu: ingisu
• Macedonian: неприја́тности pl (neprijátnosti)
• Plautdietsch: Onjenieech n, Ploag f
• Polish: kłopot (pl) m
• Portuguese: incômodo (pt) m
• Romanian: deranj (ro) n, incomodare (ro) f
• Santali: ᱚᱡᱚᱨ (ôjôr)
• Swedish: besvär (sv) n
• Ukrainian: турбо́ти (turbóty)

Interjection

bother!

1. A mild expression of annoyance.
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Wordsworth Classics, published 1993, page 11:

     [H]e suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "Oh blow!" and also "Hang spring-cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.

   • 1926, A A Milne, Winnie the Pooh, Methuen & Co., Ltd., Chapter 2 ...in which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place:

     "Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."

     "Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."

     "I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help and bother!"

Synonyms

• botheration, blast, dang (US), darn, drat, phooey, fiddlesticks

Translations

mild expression of annoyance/irritation

• Arabic: يَزْعَجْ (yazʕaj), يُضَايِقْ (yuḍāyiq)
• Dutch: verdorie (nl)
• Esperanto: aĉ (eo)
• Finnish: voi sentään!
• French: zut (fr)!, mince (fr)
• German: verdammt (de), Mist (de) m
• Hungarian: teringettét (hu), az ördögbe, a csudába, a fenébe (hu)
• Portuguese: porcaria! (pt), droga! (pt), credo! (pt) m
• Spanish: joroba (es), rayos (es), caramba (es)

Derived terms

• bebother
• be bothered
• botherance
• botheration
• bothered
• botherer
• botherless
• botherment
• bothersome
• father-bother merger
• not a bother on someone
• spot of bother

 

Anagrams

• Hobert, boreth

Fingallian

Etymology

Derived from Irish bodhar, bodhraim (“to deafen, annoy”).

Verb

bother

1. to annoy with sound, to deafen

References

• J. J. Hogan and Patrick C. O'Neill (1947) Béaloideas Iml. 17, Uimh 1/2, An Cumann Le Béaloideas Eireann/Folklore of lreland Society, page 264