n. [ OE. fother, foder, AS. fō&unr_;er a cartload; akin to G. fuder a cartload, a unit of measure, OHG. fuodar, D. voeder, and perh. to E. fathom, or cf. Skr. pātrā vessel, dish. Cf. Fodder a fother. ] 1. A wagonload; a load of any sort. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Of dung full many a fother. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. See Fodder, a unit of weight. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fothered p. pr. & vb. n. Fothering. ] [ Cf. Fodder food, and G. füttern, futtern, to cover within or without, to line. √75. ] To stop (a leak in a ship at sea) by drawing under its bottom a thrummed sail, so that the pressure of the water may force it into the crack. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fovere, fotum, to keep warm, to cherish. ] Nourishing. [ Obs. ] T. Carew (1633). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Com.) Seventy pounds of lead.