How do you spell nother?

Answer 1

Short version:

As a standalone abbreviation, the word can be spelled with or without a leading apostrophe:

• nother

• 'nother

As part of the tmesis "a-whole-nother", using dashes makes it clear it's all one phrase.

More detail:

While there are some rare cases where a writer has used the word nother/'nother, in most cases the word is used as part of what's called a tmesis.

A tmesis is a word split into two parts with another word inserted for humor or emphasis.

Examples of tmesis:

• unbelievable + freaking = "un-freaking-believable"

• fantastic + fricking = "fan-fricking-tastic"

• absolutely + bloody = "abso-bloody-lutely"

• scrumptious + diddly = "scrum-diddly-umptious"

Shakespeare also made use of tmesis in his writings - for example, "How-heinous-ever it be" (Richard II).

Answer 2

This is generally a truncated version ('nother) of the word another.

Some dictionaries list "nother" as a variant of "other" but it is plainly the same. It is almost exclusively seen in the informal form "a whole 'nother thing", where the word wholeimproperly divides the word another.