Alter

See also: alter, älter, and alter-

German

Etymology

From Middle High German alter, from Old High German altar, from Proto-Germanic *aldrą. Cognate with German Low German Oller.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaltər/, [ˈʔältʰɐ], [ˈʔaltʰɐ], [ˈʔɑltɑ]
• IPA^(key): /ˈaltər/, [ˈʔɑltər]

• audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Alter n (genitive Alters, plural Alter)

1. age, old age
   • 1834, Rahel. Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde. Erster Theil, Berlin, p. 275:

     Sie sind Eines Alters [...]

     They are of the same age [...]

2. antiquity
3. epoch, age

Derived terms

• Altersangabe
• Altersaufbau
• Altersdiskriminierung
• Altersdurchschnitt
• Alterserscheinung
• Altersfrage
• Altersgrenze
• Altersgruppe
• Mittelalter
• Jugendalter
• Zeitalter

Descendants

• → Luxembourgish: Alter

See also

• alters (Alters)

Noun

Alter m (genitive Alten, plural Alte, female Alte)

1. nominalization of alt (“someone or something old or bygone”)
2. old man; old person (male or of unspecified sex)
3. (colloquial) mate, bloke ; dude, guy ; a somewhat intimate or mildly dismissive word for a man, especially but not exclusively used as a vocative

   Alter! Komm zurück, wir müssen hier links. ― Dude! Come back, we need to go left here.

   Haste ma ’n Euro für was zu essen, Alter? ― You got a euro for summat to eat, mate? (by a homeless person)

   Wenn irgendso’n Alter hier Ärger macht, schmeiß ihn gleich raus. ― If some bloke acts up in here, kick him right out.

   Ihr Alter hat sie sitzen lassen. ― Her guy jilted her.

Interjection

Alter

1. (colloquial, chiefly slang) man; dude; used for emphasis

   Alter, was denn hier los?

   Man, what’s going on in here?

Usage notes

• This use is derived from the word for a man above and is not always clearly distinguishable from it. It is more marked as slang, however, and is also quite common when addressing a female (the latter part in line with the more usual synonym Mann).

Synonyms

• Mann

Noun

Alter f

1. inflection of Alte:
   1. strong genitive/dative singular
   2. strong genitive plural

References

• “Alter” in Duden online

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Luxembourgish

Etymology

From German Alter n. The masculine gender, though existing dialectally in German, is probably triggered by French âge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalteʀ/, [ˈɑltɐ]

Noun

Alter m (plural Alteren)

1. age
2. old age