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alteruter

Etymology and origin of the Latin word alteruter

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cato
Ultimate origin
Latin (alter,uter)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [aɫˈtɛ.rʊ.tɛr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [alˈtɛː.ru.ter][1]

Forms

alteruter (feminine alterutra, neuter alterutrum); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)[1] Also written alter uter, and Livy has alterautra.[2] The forms alterūtra and alterūtrum are commoner than altera utra and alterum utrum.[3]

Etymology

It is a compound of alter “the other (of two)” and uter “which of two”.[2][1][4] De Vaan traces ⟨uter⟩ to Proto-Italic *kʷotero-, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-tero- (“which of two”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the OLD's earliest citations are Cato, Lucretius and Varro.[2] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant one or the other of two, either, as an adjective and as a pronoun, as in Varro and Cicero.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant one of two, either, and ad alterutrum one to another.[7] British Medieval Latin used it for one or the other, inclusive and exclusive.[8]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[6][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. One or the other of two, either.[2]

Pronoun

  1. One or other of two persons or things.[2]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) ad alterutrum, one to another.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Alteruter.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/alteruter. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·