Morther

Well, Mor, where have you been this long while? (Norfolk). Iʹsy, Mor, come hither! (Norfolk). Mor or Morther means a lass, a wench. It is the Dutch moer (a woman). In Norfolk they call a lad a bor, from the Dutch boer (a farmer), English boor. “Well, bor!” and “Well, mor!” are to be heard daily in every part of the county.

“When once a giggling morther you,

And I a red-faced chubby boy,

Sly tricks you played me not a few,

For mischief was your greatest joy.”

Bloomfield: Richard and Kate.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

Morther

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