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versus

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Versus, vérsus, verŝus, and vēršus

English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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versus

  1. Against; in opposition to.
    Synonyms: vs, vs., (abbreviations) v
    It is the Packers versus the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
  2. Compared with, as opposed to.
    • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      In polling by the Pew Research Center in November 2008, fully half the respondents thought the two parties would cooperate more in the coming year, versus only 36 percent who thought the climate would grow more adversarial.
    • 2005, Robert E. Weiss, Modeling Longitudinal Data, Springer, →ISBN, page 104:
      If, for example, we select random people entering a workout gym, versus if we pick random people entering a hospital, we will get very different samples.
  3. (law) Bringing a legal action against, as used in the title of a court case in which the first party indicates the plaintiff (or appellant or the like), and the second indicates the defendant (or respondent or the like).
    Synonyms: v, (abbreviation) v.
    Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.
  4. Interacting with, especially to record reactions
  5. (music) Mashed up with.
    Kiss Me Thru The Phone vs. Last Friday Night
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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versus (third-person singular simple present versuses, present participle versusing, simple past and past participle versused)

(colloquial)

  1. To face in competition
  2. To fight

Further reading

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Finnish

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Etymology

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Latin versus

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʋersus/, [ˈʋe̞rs̠us̠]
  • Rhymes: -ersus
  • Syllabification(key): ver‧sus
  • Hyphenation(key): ver‧sus

Preposition

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versus [with nominative]

  1. versus
    Synonym: vastaan

Further reading

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French

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Etymology

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From Latin versus. Doublet of vers.

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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versus

  1. versus, full form of vs

Indonesian

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Etymology

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Internationalism, from Latin versus. Doublet of verso.

Pronunciation

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Particle

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versus

  1. versus: against; in opposition to.

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin versus. Doublet of verso, which is inherited.

Preposition

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versus

  1. versus

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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    From earlier vorsus, from Proto-Italic *worssos, perfect passive participle of *wertō (“to turn”).

    Alternative forms

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    Participle

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    versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

    1. turned, changed, having been turned
    Declension
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    First/second-declension adjective.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative versus versa versum versī versae versa
    genitive versī versae versī versōrum versārum versōrum
    dative versō versae versō versīs
    accusative versum versam versum versōs versās versa
    ablative versō versā versō versīs
    vocative verse versa versum versī versae versa
    Derived terms
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    Etymology 2

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      Adverbial use of versus (“turned”).

      Alternative forms

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      Adverb

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      versus (not comparable)

      1. towards, turned to or in the direction of, facing
      Derived terms
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      Descendants
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      Etymology 3

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      From vertō +‎ -tus (forming action nouns).

      Alternative forms

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      Noun

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      versus m (genitive versūs); fourth declension

      1. a furrow (turned earth)
        Synonym: sulcus
      2. (transferred senses):
        1. a line, row
        3. (especially) a line of writing; (poetry) a verse
          Synonym: numerus
      3. a land measure equal to a plethron
        • 1st century BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum rusticarum libri III (Agricultural Topics in Three Books). Liber I, X:
          Ille, Modos, quibus metirentur rura, alius alios constituit. Nam in Hispania ulteriore metiuntur iugis, in Campania versibus, apud nos in agro Romano ac Latino iugeris. Iugum vocant, quod iuncti boves uno die exarare possint.
          Each country has its own method of measuring land. Thus in farther Spain the unit of measure is the iugum, in Campania the versus, with us here in the district of Rome and in Latium the iugerum. The iugum is the amount of land which a yoke of oxen can plough in a day; the versus is an area 100 feet square; 2 the iugerum an area containing two square actus.
      4. (dance) a turn, step
      Declension
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      Fourth-declension noun.

      singular plural
      nominative versus versūs
      genitive versūs versuum
      dative versuī versibus
      accusative versum versūs
      ablative versū versibus
      vocative versus versūs
      Derived terms
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      Descendants
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      Borrowed:

      Etymology 4

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      Perfect passive participle of verrō (“to sweep”).

      Participle

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      versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

      1. swept
      Declension
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      First/second-declension adjective.

      singular plural
      masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
      nominative versus versa versum versī versae versa
      genitive versī versae versī versōrum versārum versōrum
      dative versō versae versō versīs
      accusative versum versam versum versōs versās versa
      ablative versō versā versō versīs
      vocative verse versa versum versī versae versa

      References

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      • “versus, -a, -um”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus, -a, -um”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “versus (adv. and prep.)”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus (adv. and prep.)”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “versus, -ūs”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus, -ūs”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • "versus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
      • “versus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
      • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
        • to sing the praises of some one (not canere aliquem: alicuius laudes versibus persequi
        • to celebrate some one's exploits in song: alicuius res gestas versibus ornare, celebrare
        • (ambiguous) in all directions: quoquo versus; in omnes partes
        • (ambiguous) to advance in the direction of Rome: Romam versus proficisci
        • (ambiguous) to write poetry: versus facere, scribere
        • (ambiguous) to write poetry with facility: carmina , versus fundere (De Or. 3. 50)
        • (ambiguous) to recite a poem, line with appropriate action: carmen, versum agere
      • Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911), “vĕrsus”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 705

      Anagrams

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      Polish

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      Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia pl

      Etymology

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      Unadapted borrowing from Latin versus.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈvɛr.sus/
      • Rhymes: -ɛrsus
      • Syllabification: ver‧sus

      Preposition

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      versus

      1. versus (in opposition to)
        Synonym: kontra

      Further reading

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      • versus in Polish dictionaries at PWN

      Portuguese

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      Pronunciation

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      • Hyphenation: ver‧sus

      Preposition

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      versus

      1. alternative spelling of vérsus

      Further reading

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      Spanish

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from English versus,[1] from Latin versus. Doublet of verso.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈbeɾsus/ [ˈbeɾ.sus]
      • Rhymes: -eɾsus
      • Syllabification: ver‧sus

      Preposition

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      versus

      1. versus
        Esta noche transmitiremos a Alberto del Río versus John Cena en vivo.
        Tonight, we'll be broadcasting Alberto del Rio versus John Cena live.

      Usage notes

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      • This word is sometimes frowned upon as an anglicism, with the suggestion that contra or the conjunction y should be used instead.

      References

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      1. ^ “versus”, 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

      Further reading

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