altercar

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos

Proto-Italic *aljos

Proto-Indo-European *-teros

Proto-Italic *-teros

Proto-Italic *aliteros

Latin alter

Latin -ic-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin -ico

Latin altercārībor.

Portuguese altercar

Borrowed from Latin altercārī.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aw.teʁˈka(ʁ)/ [aʊ̯.tehˈka(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aw.teʁˈka(ʁ)/ [aʊ̯.tehˈka(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /aw.teɾˈka(ɾ)/ [aʊ̯.teɾˈka(ɾ)]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /aw.teʁˈka(ʁ)/ [aʊ̯.teχˈka(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /aw.teɻˈka(ɻ)/ [aʊ̯.teɻˈka(ɻ)]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /al.tɨɾˈkaɾ/ [aɫ.tɨɾˈkaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /al.tɨɾˈkaɾ/ [aɫ.tɨɾˈkaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /al.tɨɾˈka.ɾi/ [aɫ.tɨɾˈka.ɾi]

• Hyphenation: al‧ter‧car

Verb

altercar (first-person singular present alterco, first-person singular preterite alterquei, past participle altercado)

1. to dispute, argue, quarrel

Conjugation

    Conjugation of altercar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	altercar
Personal	altercar	altercares	altercar	altercarmos	altercardes	altercarem
Gerund
	altercando
Past participle
Masculine	altercado			altercados
Feminine	altercada			altercadas
Indicative
Present	alterco	altercas	alterca	altercamos	altercais	altercam
Imperfect	altercava	altercavas	altercava	altercávamos	altercáveis	altercavam
Preterite	alterquei	altercaste	altercou	altercamos1, altercámos2	altercastes	altercaram
Pluperfect	altercara	altercaras	altercara	altercáramos	altercáreis	altercaram
Future	altercarei	altercarás	altercará	altercaremos	altercareis	altercarão
Conditional	altercaria	altercarias	altercaria	altercaríamos	altercaríeis	altercariam
Subjunctive
Present	alterque	alterques	alterque	alterquemos	alterqueis	alterquem
Imperfect	altercasse	altercasses	altercasse	altercássemos	altercásseis	altercassem
Future	altercar	altercares	altercar	altercarmos	altercardes	altercarem
Imperative
Affirmative		alterca	alterque	alterquemos	altercai	alterquem
Negative (não)		não alterques	não alterque	não alterquemos	não alterqueis	não alterquem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Further reading

• “altercar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “altercar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos

Proto-Italic *aljos

Proto-Indo-European *-teros

Proto-Italic *-teros

Proto-Italic *aliteros

Latin alter

Latin -ic-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin -ico

Latin altercārībor.

Spanish altercar

Borrowed from Latin altercārī. Compare English altercate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alteɾˈkaɾ/ [al̪.t̪eɾˈkaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: al‧ter‧car

Verb

altercar (first-person singular present alterco, first-person singular preterite alterqué, past participle altercado)

1. to dispute, argue, quarrel

   Synonyms: batallar, discutir, disputar, porfiar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of altercar (c-qu alternation) (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			altercar
gerund			altercando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		altercado		altercada
		plural		altercados		altercadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	alterco	altercastú altercásvos	alterca	altercamos	altercáis	altercan
	imperfect	altercaba	altercabas	altercaba	altercábamos	altercabais	altercaban
	preterite	alterqué	altercaste	altercó	altercamos	altercasteis	altercaron
	future	altercaré	altercarás	altercará	altercaremos	altercaréis	altercarán
	conditional	altercaría	altercarías	altercaría	altercaríamos	altercaríais	altercarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	alterque	alterquestú alterquésvos2	alterque	alterquemos	alterquéis	alterquen
	imperfect (ra)	altercara	altercaras	altercara	altercáramos	altercarais	altercaran
	imperfect (se)	altercase	altercases	altercase	altercásemos	altercaseis	altercasen
	future1	altercare	altercares	altercare	altercáremos	altercareis	altercaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		altercatú altercávos	alterque	alterquemos	altercad	alterquen
	negative		no alterques	no alterque	no alterquemos	no alterquéis	no alterquen

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

Derived terms

• altercado

Related terms

• altercación

Further reading

• “altercar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025