alternative
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Alternative
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternativus, from the participle stem of Latin alternāre (“to do by turns”). Compare alternate.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative (not comparable)
- Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities
- an alternative proposition
- Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground (e.g., alternative medicine, alternative lifestyle, alternative rock).
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) Other.
- alternate; reciprocal
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from alternative
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.]
- The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted. [from 18th c.]
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Wikisaurus: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
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
-
alternative (file)
Adjective[edit]
alternative f
- feminine form of alternatif
Noun[edit]
alternative f (plural alternatives)
German[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- inflected form of alternativ
Italian[edit]
Noun[edit]
alternative f
- plural form of alternativa
Adjective[edit]
alternative f
- feminine plural of alternativo
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternātīve
- vocative masculine singular of alternātīvus
Swedish[edit]
Adjective[edit]
alternative
- absolute definite natural masculine form of alternativ.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English adjectives
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- French adjective forms
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French countable nouns
- German adjective forms
- Italian plurals
- Italian adjective forms
- Latin adjective forms
- Swedish adjective forms
