Smotter

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Dialect verb meaning to smother or suffocate something under smoke or fine dust ; a dense, choking cloud of smoke or fine dust that hangs in the air
2. Chiefly Scottish word for smothering something beneath smoke or powdery dust ; a thick, suffocating cloud of smoke or dust hanging over an area
3. In Scots usage, to choke or overwhelm someone with smoke or dust ; the heavy, stifling cloud of smoke or dust that such a condition produces

Etymology: "Smotter" is a dialect word, found mainly in Scotland and northern England, that describes a thick, choking cloud of smoke or dust, or the act of being smothered by one. Its sense is close to that of standard "smother," which descends from Old English "smorian," meaning to suffocate or stifle. The likely relationship is that "smotter" is a variant built on the same root as "smother," with its own dialect shape and nuance. Dialect words like this often survive in local speech long after the standard word has narrowed its meaning, and this one kept the sense of something thick and suffocating in the air.