other

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English other,^[2][3] inherited from Old English ōþer (“second; the other of two”),^[4][5][6][3] from Proto-Germanic *anþeraz.^[4][5][7][8] It is cognate with Old Frisian ōther, Old Saxon ōðar and āthar, Middle Dutch ander, Dutch ander, Old High German andar, German ander, Old Norse annarr and Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 (anþar, “second, other”).^[9][4][5][3] Barnhart and Etymonline note that the Old English, Old Saxon and Old Frisian forms show the normal loss of n before a fricative.^[5][4] Outside Germanic it is related to Lithuanian antras (“second, other”), Old Prussian antars (“other”) and Latvian otrs (“second, other”).^[4][9][5][8] These go back to Proto-Indo-European *an-tero-,^[4][7] formed with the contrastive (later comparative) suffix Proto-Indo-European *-teros, also seen in nether, whether and after,^[9][6][3] which the OED says first contrasted things by their place.^[9] The base is the stem of words for "other" in Sanskrit and Avestan according to the OED and Hoad,^[9][6] and Klein and Boutkan (cited by Etymonline) identify it with the pronoun Proto-Indo-European *eno-, which Klein also sees in yon.^[3][4] Etymonline and Ayto add that it may be a variant of, or related to, the form behind Latin alter (“the other of two”).^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Second, the other of two; also as a pronoun, the one of two, a different person or thing: before 899, in Alfred's translations of Boethius and Orosius.^[5][4][9]

Semantic evolution

The Germanic sense "second" was given up in English, which took second from Latin, and in German, which uses German zweiter, to avoid ambiguity; in Scandinavian languages the second floor is still the "other" floor, as in Swedish andra and Danish anden.^[4][5] The OED records "second, next" until 1876, and the sense survives in every other (every second), recorded from before 1413.^[9][2] Also obsolete is the sense "the one of two", which in the 1590s could mean "the left one", as German ander can.^[9] The other day meant "the next day" in late Old English, then "yesterday" (about 1300), and loosely "a few days ago" from the early 15th century; the OED has "not long past" from about 1275.^[4][9] As an adverb it meant "secondly" in late Old English, "otherwise" from before 1121 (Etymonline: about 1200), and "in addition" from the mid-14th century.^[4][5] The other woman, a man's lover while he is committed to someone else, is from 1855, and the other place was a euphemism for hell.^[4] In philosophy the other is what exists as the opposite of something, or is excluded by it,^[2] and the verb, to conceive of a group as distinct and alien, is recorded from 1810.^[9]

Timeline

• before 899 – ōþer, second, the other of two, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[5][4]
• before 1121 – adverb, otherwise.^[5] Etymonline dates this sense to about 1200.^[4]
• c. 1275 – the other day, a day not long past.^[9]
• before 1413 – every other, every second.^[9]
• 1810 – verb, to regard as distinct and alien.^[9]
• 1855 – the other woman.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Being the one or ones remaining of two or more: She held the rope with her other hand.^[10][2][9]
2. Different from the one or ones already mentioned or understood: Ask some other person.^[10][2][9]
3. Additional, further: There are other problems too.^[10][9]
4. every other: every second, alternate: We meet every other Tuesday.^[2][9]
5. the other day: a few days ago; recently.^[4][9]
6. (obsolete, Old English–1876) Second; next.^[9][2]

Pronoun

1. The remaining one of two or more: One twin sang and the other played the piano.^[10][2]
2. A different or additional person or thing: Some stayed, others left.^[2][10]

Noun

1. the other: that which is opposite to or excluded by something, especially the self.^[2]

Adverb

1. Otherwise, differently; usually with than: He could not leave other than by the back door.^[2][5]

Verb

1. To view or treat a person or group as fundamentally different and alien.^[9]

Word family

• otherwhere
• otherwhile
• Otherworld
• otherness
• each other
• other half
• other man
• other woman

Related words

• another
• other than
• otherwise
• second
• nether
• whether
• yon
• alter

Usage notes

An obsolete other, meaning "or" or "either", was a late Old English alteration of oþþe (“or”) and was used until about 1600.^[9][11]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
8. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press