uter

See also: úter

Latin

Etymology 1

For *cuter, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷóteros, from *kʷos (“which”), ultimately from *kʷ-. Cognate with Ancient Greek πότερος (póteros, “which of the two”) and English whether.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈʊ.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.ter]

Pronoun

uter (feminine utra, neuter utrum); first/second-declension pronoun (nominative masculine singular in -er, pronominal)

1. (interrogative) which, who (of two)?
   • c. 189 BCE, Plautus, Truculentus 1.2.51:

     Em istoc pol tu otiosu's,
     cum et illic et hic pervorsus es. Sed utriscum rem esse mavis

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 15.20.3.2:

     Pompeium Carteia receptum scribis; iam igitur contra hunc exercitum. Utra ergo castra? Media enim tollit Antonius.

     • 1999 translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey

       You say that Pompey has been admitted into Carteia. So he’ll presently be bringing an army against Antony. Which camp then? For Antony is putting middle courses out of the question.

2. (relative, in indirect questions) whichever, whoever (of two)
   • c. 180 BCE, Plautus, Casina 2.3.56:

     Iam hic erit: nunc experiemur, nostrum uter sit blandior.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.44:

     Sic fortuna in contentione et certamine utrumque versavit, ut alter alteri inimicus auxilio salutique esset, neque diiudicari posset, uter utri virtute anteferendus videretur.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (indefinite) either (of two), one or the other
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 21.18.13:

     Tum Romanus sinu ex toga facto, "hic" inquit, "uobis bellum et pacem portamus; utrum placet sumite." Sub hanc uocem haud minus ferociter, daret utrum uellet, succlamatum est; […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

Variously construed:

• With a genitival partitive: Quam ob rem uter nostrum tandem, Labiene, popularis est, […] (Cicero, Pro Rabirio perduellonis reo 4.11)
• With partitive ex or (rare) de: Quomodo, oro te, convenit ut et Diogenen mireris et Daedalum? Uter ex his sapiens tibi videtur? (Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 90.14)

Number agreement:

• With the verb in the singular: Valerius Horatiusque consules sortiti uter dedicaret [aedem]. (Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 2.27.5)
• In the second person, with the verb in the plural (Plautine): Uter eratis, tun an ille, maior?, "Who of the two was the older one, you or he?" (Plautus, Menaechmi 5.9.60)
• Used in the plural to define two sets comprised of more than one entity: […] ; sed, utros eius [Suculi] habueris libros—duo enim sunt corpora—an utrosque, nescio. (Cicero, Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem 2.11.14)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er, pronominal).

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	uter	utra	utrum		utrī	utrae	utra
genitive	utrī̆us				utrōrum	utrārum	utrōrum
dative	utrī				utrīs
accusative	utrum	utram	utrum		utrōs	utrās	utra
ablative	utrō	utrā	utrō		utrīs
vocative	uter	utra	utrum		utrī	utrae	utra

Derived terms

• alteruter
• neuter
• uterque
• utrubi

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			realis			irrealis		interrogative				indefinite					alternative
	proximal	medial	distal	anaphoric	identity	affirmative	conditional	negative		indefinite	irrelative / emphatic	relative		irrelative	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste istic	ille illic	is	ipse īdem	quisquidem	sīquis	nēquisquam nēmō nihil nūllus	numquis	ecquis ecquī ecquisnam ecquīnam	quisnam quīnam	quis quī	quisquis quīcumque	quīdam aliquis, quis aliquī, quī quispiam	quīvis quīlibet	quisque	quisquam ūllus	alius
comparative	huiusmodī huiuscemodī	istī̆usmodī	illī̆usmodī	eiusmodī	eiusdemmodī		sīcuiusmodī	nēcuiusquammodī	numcuiusmodī		cuiusnammodī	cuiusmodī	cuiusmodīcumque	alicuiusmodī cuiusdammodī	cuiusvīsmodī	cuiusquemodī	cuiusquammodī	alterī̆usmodī
dual								neuter			uternam	uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs uterlibet	uterque		alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem		sīcubī	nusquam nūllibī			ubinam	ubī̆	ubī̆cumque ubiubī̆	alicubī̆ uspiam	ubivīs ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	alibī aliās
source	hinc	ºistim istinc	ºillim illinc	inde	indidem		sīcunde	°nūllunde			undenam	ºcum unde	undecumque undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique	°undiquam	aliunde
destination	hūc hōc °hōrsum	istūc istōc °istōrsum	illūc illōc °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quōquidem	sīquō	nusquam °nūllōrsum	numquō	ecquō	quōnam	quō quōrsum	quōcumque quōquō °quōrsumcumque	aliquō quōpiam °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs quōlibet	quōque	quōquam	aliō aliōrsum
means, way, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quāquidem	sīquā	nēquāquam haudquāquam	numquā	ecquā	quānam	quā	quācumque quāquā	aliquā	quāvīs quālibet	quāque	°quāquam ūllā	aliā
distance	hāctenus	°istātenus °istāctenus	°illātenus °illāctenus	eātenus				nūllātenus		°ecquātenus	°quātenusnam	quātenus	°quātenuscumque °quāquātenus	aliquātenus quādantenus	°quātenusvīs °quātenuslibet		ūllātenus	aliātenus
reason	°hācpropter °hōccircā	°istāpropter	°illāpropter	eāpropter eōcircā				°nullāpropter °nullōcircā				cūr quāpropter quōcircā quārē	°quāproptercumque	°quādampropter		°quōquecircā		°aliāpropter
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita sīc eō modō	item itidem	quidem	sīquī	nihil nihilō neutiquam °neutī̆que nēquīquam nē quidem nūllō modō	numquī	ecquī	utinam	ut prout quī quō modō quōmodo quemadmodum quiter quārē	utcumque utut proutcumque quōmodocumque °quemadmodumcumque	quī quōdam modō aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	°utiquam °quīquam ūllō modō	aliter aliōquī alterō/aliō modō
time	†num nunc		ōlim	tum tunc	simul	quandōquidem	sīquandō	numquam	numquandō	ecquandō	quandōnam	quandō ‡cum	quandōcumque quandōque cumque °quandōnē °quandōquandō °cumcumque	quondam aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen †tandem	°quamquidem						quam	quamcumque †quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs quamlibet	quamque
size				tantus	tantusdem							quantus	quantuscumque quantusquantus	aliquantus	quantusvīs quantuslibet	quantusque
quality				tālis						°ecquālis	quālisnam	quālis	quāliscumque quālisquālis	aliquālis	quālislibet	quālisque
number				tot	totidem						°quotnam °quotinam	quot	quotquot quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order/fractional				totus								quotus	°quotuscumque	°aliquotus	°quotuslibet	°quotusque °quotusquisque
repetition				totiēns				nullotiēns				quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet	quotiēnsque °quotiēnsquisque
multiplication				totuplex								quotuplex
proportion				°totuplus								quotuplus
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat changed ° Rare ‡ Only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative.

Etymology 2

For *udris, from Proto-Italic *udri-, from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”). Compare with Ancient Greek ὑδρία (hudría, “water-pot, pitcher”). Related to vitrum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈʊ.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.ter]

Noun

uter m (genitive utris); third declension

1. a vessel made of hide used to store wine or water; a leather bottle, a skin

   Near-synonyms: ampulla, hirnea

   Hypernym: vās

   • c. 77 CE – 79 CE, Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 12.7.15:

     Indi in utribus camelorum aut rhinocerotum id [caryophyllon] mittunt.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 40 BCE, Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum 91.1:

     Ceterum in itinere cottidie pecus exercitui per centurias, item turmas aequaliter distribuerat et, ex coriis utres uti fierent, curabat; […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Virgil, Georgics 2.384:

     Non aliam ob culpam Baccho caper omnibus aris
     caeditur et veteres ineunt proscaenia ludi,
     praemiaque ingeniis pagos et compita circum
     Thesidae posuere, atque inter pocula laeti
     mollibus in pratis unctos salvere per utres […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (especially) a bag made of hide inflated for flotation

   Hypernyms: linter, nāvis

   • c. 48 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili 1.48:

     […] hos [pabulatores Caesaris] levis armaturae Lusitani peritique earum regionum cetrati citerioris Hispaniae consectabantur; quibus erat proclive tranare flumen, quod consuetudo eorum omnium est, ut sine utribus ad exercitum non eant.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 21.27:

     Hispani sine ulla mole in utres uestimentis coniectis ipsi caetris superpositis incubantes flumen tranauere.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

• Note: although the nominative and accusative plural was normally the masculine utrēs, the rare alternative neuter plural utria is also attested.

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	uter	utrēs utria
genitive	utris	utrium
dative	utrī	utribus
accusative	utrem	utrīs utrēs utria
ablative	utre	utribus
vocative	uter	utrēs

Derived terms

• utriculus

Descendants

• Aromanian: utri
• Catalan: odre
• → French: outre
• Galician: odre
• Italian: otre
• Piedmontese: oiro
• Portuguese: odre
• Sicilian: utri
• Spanish: odre

Etymology 3

Noun

uter m (genitive uterī); second declension

1. alternative form of uterus

   (Can we add an example for this sense? )

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).

	singular	plural
nominative	uter	uterī
genitive	uterī	uterōrum
dative	uterō	uterīs
accusative	uterum	uterōs
ablative	uterō	uterīs
vocative	uter	uterī

Further reading

• “ŭter¹”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “uter¹”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ūter²”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ūter²”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ŭter³”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ŭtĕr”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• uter, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to offer a person the alternative of... or..: optionem alicui dare, utrum...an
    
  • (ambiguous) it is a debated point whether... or..: in contentione ponitur, utrum...an
    
• “uter”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
• Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “uter”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 646-647

Old High German

Alternative forms

• ūtar, ūtaro, ūtiro

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *eudr, from Proto-Germanic *ūdarą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ewHdʰr̥-, *h₁ówHdʰr̥, *h₁uHdʰr̥- (“udder”).

Noun

ūter m

1. udder

Descendants

• Middle High German: ūter, iuter m or n
  • Cimbrian: autar n
  • German: Euter n
  • Luxembourgish: Auder m

References

• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), “u”, in Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[2] (in German), 6th edition

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin uterus, French utérus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈu.ter]

Noun

uter n (plural utere)

1. (anatomy) uterus

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	uter	uterul		utere	uterele
genitive-dative	uter	uterului		utere	uterelor
vocative	uterule			uterelor