altercation

English

Etymology

Borrowing from French altercation, from Latin altercātiō, from altercātor, from alter, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élteros (“the other of two”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɔl.tɚˈkeɪ.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

altercation (countable and uncountable, plural altercations)

1. Warm contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or anger; controversy; wrangle; wordy contest.
   • 1914, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Valley of Fear:

     "What the hell is it to you who are my friends?" roared McMurdo in a voice which brought every head in the carriage round to witness the altercation.

Synonyms

• dispute, wrangle

Translations

dispute

• Bengali: বিবাদ (bibad)
• Bulgarian: спор (bg) (spor)
• Czech: hádka (cs) f
• Dutch: woordenwisseling (nl), dispuut (nl)
• Finnish: riita (fi), kiista (fi), sanasota (fi), tappelu (fi), jupakka (fi)
• French: altercation (fr) f, dispute (fr) f
• German: heftige Auseinandersetzung f, Auseinandersetzung (de) f, Streit (de) m, Disput (de) m, Kontroverse (de) f
• Greek: διαπληκτισμός (el) m (diapliktismós)
• Icelandic: bræta f, rifrildi (is) n, deila (is) f, orðakast n, orðahnippingar f pl, orðaskak n, orðasenna f

• Italian: alterco (it) m, disputa (it) f, discussione (it) f, diverbio (it) m, litigio (it) m, diatriba (it) f
• Maori: kekeritanga
• Persian: مشاجره‏‎ (fa) (mošâjere)
• Polish: spór (pl) m
• Portuguese: briga (pt) f, disputa (pt) f, altercação (pt) f
• Russian: перебра́нка (ru) f (perebránka), ссо́ра (ru) f (ssóra), спор (ru) m (spor), ди́спут (ru) m (dísput), разбо́рка (ru) f (razbórka)
• Serbo-Croatian: nesporazum (sh) m, spor (sh) m, sukob (sh) m, verbalni sukob m
• Spanish: disputa (es) f, altercado (es) m
• Swedish: gräl (sv) n, ordväxling c

Anagrams

• relactation

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French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin altercatio

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /al.tɛʁ.ka.sjɔ̃/
• Rhymes: -ɔ̃
• Homophone: altercations

Noun

altercation f (plural altercations)

1. Altercation

Further reading

• “altercation” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).