alternative

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
  2. Presenting two or more alternatives.
  3. Other; different from something else.
  4. Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
  5. Alternate, reciprocal.
noun
  1. A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities.
  2. One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen.
  3. The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted.
  4. alternative rock
  5. A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.

Pronunciation

ŏl-tûr′nə-tĭv /ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ /ɔːlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ /ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/ /ɑlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/ En-us-alternative.ogg /ɔlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ /ɒlˈtøː.nə.təv/ [ɔ̟lˈtøː.nə.təv] /ˌɔl.ʈə(r)ˌne.ʈɪʋ/ /əl.ʈə(r)ˈne.ʈɪʋ/

Word forms

alternative alternatives

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos Proto-Italic *aljos Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *aliteros Latin alter Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin alternus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin alternō Latin alternātus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Latin alternātīvusder. Middle French alternatifbor. English alternative From Middle French alternatif, from Medieval Latin alternātīvus (“alternating”), from the participle stem of Latin alternō (“interchange, alternate”). By surface analysis, alternate + -ive. Compare alternate.

Translations

Armenian: այլընտրանքային Belarusian: альтэрнаты́ўны Bulgarian: алтернати́вен Bulgarian: друга възможност Bulgarian: или-или Catalan: alternatiu Chinese Mandarin: 選項 /选项 Czech: alternativní Danish: alternativ Dutch: alternatief Esperanto: anstataŭa Finnish: vaihtoehtoinen French: alternatif Galician: alternativo German: alternativ Greek: εναλλακτικός Greek: προαιρετικός Hindi: वैकल्पिक Hungarian: vagylagos Italian: alternativo Kazakh: балама Malay: alternatif Malayalam: ബദൽ Malayalam: പകരം Mirandese: alternatibo Norwegian: alternativ Polish: alternatywny Portuguese: alternativo Russian: альтернати́вный Serbo-Croatian: а̏лтернатӣван Serbo-Croatian: ȁlternatīvan Slovak: alternatívny Spanish: alternativo Swedish: alternativ Telugu: ప్రత్యామ్నాయం Ukrainian: альтернати́вний
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