flother

The story

Uncertain. The English Place-Name Society suggests that the word (at least in the sense "bog") derives from Old English *flōdor (“channel”), related to flōd (“flowing; stream; flood”), and the DSL too speculates that the word (and its synonymous Scots cognate, attested since 1611) might be related to Scots flude, English flood. Alternatively, it might be related to Scots fluther, English flutter. Perhaps also compare floter (“float”). Dialect dictionaries record several other (now rare or otherwise unattested) senses, including "nonsensical talk" (which is more often found in the form vlother) and "snowflake".