Mithering

Gave a talk a couple of months ago, a look at some of the more amusing etymologies. As always I gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions at the end, which resulted in this piece.

In all honesty I didn't know the answer to the question when it was asked. But some of you will understand when I say if I'm asked a question it will not stop coming back to mind until such time as I've answered it. I did forget for a couple of days but eventually the recurring memory forced me to answer the query.

The question was asked by a lady who, being of Welsh origin, indeed a Welsh speaker, could never understand why her husband, he born and bred in Lancashire, used the verb 'to mither' - as in 'Stop mithering me, woman!' Incidentally, just to increase the confusion further, this question was asked in Surrey, where very few of the others had heard of the term either. Indeed, it seems 'mither' is a word mostly used in the Midlands and the North of England.

I looked, and while the origins are not overly certain, the word first appears in the late 17th or early 18th century. It is thought to be derived from moedrodd meaning 'to worry, bother'. The irony here being that moedrodd is a Welsh word, the same language as the lady accused of the 'mithering' stated was her native language. I did email the answer to the group and they responded and copied in the husband and wife so they could see the answer.

As of today I have not had an answer. Perhaps they thought I was mithering? Oh, and the drink below is a cocktail known as a 'mithering bastard'.

That was not what I meant. (WXYZ)

I'm not commenting on the fourth word in today's list, I'm going for a walk instead.

Wade is today specifically 'to walk through water', originally it just meant 'to progress'.

Wafts are only carried through the air, although in the original sense it described ships moving in convoy.

Waif or stray is an abandoned child or animal, but in the fourteenth century it was a piece of property without an owner.

Walk needs no explanation, except in the thirteenth century the word meant 'roll, toss'.

Watch, as in 'to be alert', was originally simply used to mean someone was awake.

Well as in 'healthy', began in English as meaning 'happy, fortunate'.

Wince is to 'shrink from pain', but in the thirteenth century meant 'to kick restlessly' and was used often when referring to horses.

With is 'accompanying' today, but in Old English it had entirely the opposite meaning of 'against'.

Wizard is a magician today, but if we look at it as 'wise-ard' we can see the original idea of a wise man.

Worry of 'fret' was used as recently as 1606 to mean 'strangle'.

Wrong didn't mean 'incorrect' until the fifteenth century, prior to that it was 'crooked, bent'.

Zoology refers to the study of animals, but originally referred to the study of animals in the pursuit of finding cures for human ailments.

Beaten to Death

In July 1839 Richard Howe is arrested and remanded in Stafford Gaol awaiting trial on the charge of the assault of his wife Mary. It emerged surgeon Mr C Waddell had been seeing Mary for some two years but saw nothing untoward until 25th July 1838 when he saw her when she complained of severe pains in her head, chest and liver. She told the surgeon her husband had caused the swelling to her face, her abdomen and the difficulty in breathing. He diagnosed the problem as inflammation of the pleura.

Next day he returned to find her condition had worsened and, when he returned on the third day, he found her so ill that her life was threatened. Every single day he returned to check on Mary's condition, doing so until August 5th, by which time he considered her out of danger. Yet still Mr Waddell paid regular visits to check on her condition. On 3rd January 1840 he discovered Mary complaining of severe pains in her side and began the daily visits once more, until 21st January, the day of her death.

The post mortem revealed little but an inflammation to the lungs. Both Waddell and Dr Edward Knight of the General Infirmary agreed the death had been due to the injuries she sustained in July the previous year. The court subsequently heard how she had spoken of her husband as a man fuelled by drink, how he crushed her frail body, and pushed her face down against his own chest until she felt she would be asphyxiated. A neighbour spoke of their many rows. How she heard Richard say he would ensure she would "maintain him" and that Mary had replied she had always "maintained him in his idleness". This had resulted in Richard threatening "if you call me idle again I'll split your face!" Soon after she had heard a scream. When she went to see if help was needed she was ordered out by the husband, a scuffle ensued and the neighbour removed from the house, at which time her punched her in the face. Another witness, William Hall, said he had also suffered at the hands of Richard Howe.

The jury retired and found Richard Howe guilty of Wilful Murder. He was hanged for his crime.