Wuther- Daily Word №6
Wither? Quite close but not really…
Today’s word is one of my favourites! wuther, which has both a verb form and a noun form. Depending on the form, it could mean ‘ to shake vigorously’ or ‘a dull bowing sound’.
Looking Deeper
wuther comes from many roots. It has relations in the Old Norse word hivða, or ‘the squall of the wind’. The modern spelling comes form a dialectical variation of the Scots word whither — ‘to hurl or blast.’
Today wuther is almost singlehandedly kept alive by Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights(one of my favourite books), and Kate Bush’s song by the same name. Lost in all the fame surrounding them, wuther’s actual meaning is sometimes glossed over.
Using ‘wuther’ in a Sentence
wuther is quite a humble sounding word and probably will not raise too much annoyance in spoken speech. Use it to replace ‘blowing’ or ‘sweeping’.
“The bird hid its head under its wing, as if sheltering from the wuthering wind.”
I know I might not be much, but I hope to bring these words back to our use again. By sharing one word a day, maybe we still have a shot at saving them.
