alternative
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See also: Alternative
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). Compare alternate.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɒlˈtɜːnətɪv/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɔlˈtɝnəɾɪv/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˌɑlˈtɝnəɾɪv/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective[edit]
alternative (not comparable)
- Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
- an alternative proposition
- Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
- Other; different from something else.
- Alternate, reciprocal.
- 1601, Philemon Holland, transl., “Of the seuen Planets”, in The History of the World Commonly Called the Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus, translation of Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder, page 3:
- He [the Sun] it is that giveth light to all things, and riddeth them from darkneſſe : hee hideth the other ſtarres, and ſheweth them againe : he ordereth the ſeaſons in their alternative courſe : he tempereth the yeere, ariſing ever freſh and new againe, for the benefite and good of the world.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Relating to a choice
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other
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Noun[edit]
alternative (plural alternatives)
- A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities. [from 17th c.]
- 1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, XI:
- ‘The cloister or a betrothed husband?’ I echoed—‘Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?’
- 1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, XI:
- One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen. [from 17th c.]
- 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison[1]:
- Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The Constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it.
- 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison[1]:
- The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted. [from 18th c.]
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:option
Translations[edit]
a situation which allows a choice between two or more possibilities
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one of several things which can be chosen
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- alternative in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- alternative in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Esperanto[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adverb[edit]
alternative
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
Noun[edit]
alternative f (plural alternatives)
Further reading[edit]
- “alternative” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
German[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Italian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -ive
Adjective[edit]
alternative
Noun[edit]
alternative f
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternātīve
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- inflection of alternativ:
Swedish[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- absolute definite natural masculine form of alternativ.
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
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- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Esperanto terms with IPA pronunciation
- Esperanto lemmas
- Esperanto adverbs
- French 4-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
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- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French countable nouns
- German terms with audio links
- German non-lemma forms
- German adjective forms
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian adjective forms
- Italian noun plural forms
- Latin 5-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin non-lemma forms
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- Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Bokmål adjective forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk non-lemma forms
- Norwegian Nynorsk adjective forms
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish adjective forms
