rother

R1O1T1H4E1R1
/ˈɹɒðə/

noun

A horned animal, especially an ox.

OriginMiddle English rother ← Old English hrūþer ← Proto-Germanic *hrunþaz →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

rother1

nounrother (plural rothers)

plural rothers

  1. obsoleteA horned animal, especially an ox.

rother2

nounrother (plural rothers)

plural rothers

  1. A rudder.

Rother3

proper nounRother (countable and uncountable, plural Rothers)

plural Rothers

  1. countableuncountableA surname.
  2. countableuncountableA river in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, England, which flows into the River Don at Rotherham.
  3. countableuncountableA river in Hampshire and West Sussex, England, which flows into the River Arun.
  4. countableuncountableA river in Kent and East Sussex, England, which flows into the English Channel.

    Burwash, spread along a ridge between the rivers Rother and Dudwell, was an important centre of the iron industry three centuries ago when the Weald was England's main source of iron ore.

    1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 98
  5. countableuncountableA local government district in East Sussex created in 1974, which is named after the river in East Sussex.

Origin

rother · noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*hrunþaz
  2. Old Englishhrūþer
  3. Middle Englishrother
  4. Englishrother

From Middle English rother, ruther, reother, from Old English hrūþer, hrȳþer, byforms of hrīþer, hrīþ (“neat; ox”), from Proto-Germanic *hrunþaz, *hrinþaz. Cognate with Dutch rund (“bovine”), German Rind (“bovine; beef”).

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rother · noun

  1. Old Englishrōþor
  2. Middle Englishrother
  3. Englishrother

From Middle English rother, from Old English rōþor. See rudder.

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Rother · proper noun

  1. Middle EnglishLiminel
  2. Old Welsh*duβr
  3. Proto-Brythonic*ro
  4. Middle EnglishRoder
  5. EnglishRother

# For the river in South Yorkshire: Probably 'the chief river', from Middle English Roder, from Proto-Brythonic *ro + Old Welsh *duβr. # For the river in West Sussex: Back-formation from Rotherbridge. # For the river in East Sussex: Back-formation from Rotherfield. Replaced Middle English Liminel, which is cognate with River Limden.

More words from Middle English, Proto-Brythonic, Old Welsh

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

rhetor
Cite this entry
APA

rother. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rother

MLA

“rother.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rother. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rother,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rother.

Source: rother on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.