swither

verb

1. (dialectal)To burn, scorch, singe.
2. (dialectal)To burn slowly, melt (as a candle), sweal
3. (dialectal, figuratively)To smart, ache; tingle
4. (Northern-England, Scotland)To be indecisive or in a state of confusion; to dither.
5. To move or swing about.

   “He was filling his pipe, staring at his picture, not her, and this tacit dismissal allowed her to sidle over to the bank higher up, and there swither her legs about in the water before coming out of it.”

noun

1. (countable, dialectal, uncountable)A great heat; a scorching, singeing
2. (countable, dialectal, uncountable)Sweating.
3. (Northern-England, Scotland)A state of indecision or confusion; a panicked state; a flap, fluster, or dither.

   “Bradly came bristling to the lagoon the following afternoon, in a swither of alarm and expectation.”