altro Italian · revision 37571

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1037–1089, Umbrian confession formula|origins=ine-pro *h₂élteros}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈal.tro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''altro''' (feminine altra, masculine plural altri, feminine plural altre)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include ''altru'', ''atro'', ''aotra'' and ''oltro''.^(TLIO)

+ Central Italian dialects have ''antro'', ''artro'' and ''astro'', with the ⟨l⟩ changed by dissimilation from the article.^(REW 1935)

+ The old pronoun ''altri'' “someone else” continues the Latin dative.^(LEI|2, 240)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|alter|t=the other (of two)]], from the accusative [[m|la|alterum]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In classical Latin the word meant “the other of two”, while [[m|la|alius|t=another, different]] meant “another” among many; in the later language the first took over both uses, and that is why it continues everywhere in Romance.^(LEI|2, 240)^(GDLI) It is panromance: [[fr|autre]], [[oc|autre]], [[ca|altre]], [[es|otro]], [[pt|outro]], [[sc|àtteru]], [[ro|alt]] and [[dlm|yultro]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The Latin word is formed with the contrastive suffix [[ine-pro|*-teros]] on a base [[m|ine-pro|*al-]], the same as in the Latin word for “another”;^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968|29) Wiktionary gives the whole form as [[m|ine-pro|*h₂élteros]].^(Wiktionary) Its exact Italic matches are [[osc|alttram]] and [[xum|atrud]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ Besides the form from the Latin accusative, Italian kept [[m|roa-oit|altri]] “someone else”, from the dative [[m|la|alterī]], with the ending of [[egli]] and [[questi]], and [[altrui]], from the dative [[la-vul|*alterui]], remade on [[m|la|cui|t=to whom]].^(LEI|2, 240)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is an Umbrian confession formula of 1037–1089, and Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti date the word to the 11th century.^(TLIO)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI's first Tuscan record is a list of rents of the Badia di Coltibuono from the end of the 12th century, in the senses “different, new, remaining”.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian already had the main modern uses: “further, additional”, “remaining”, “the second of two”, “different”, the reinforcing ''noi altri'' and ''voi altri'', and time phrases for the day before or after.^(TLIO) As a pronoun, ''un altro'' “someone else” is in Brunetto Latini and Guittone d'Arezzo before 1294, and the LEI records it in nearly every dialect, from Genoese ''’n ätro'' to Bolognese ''äter''.^(LEI|2, 240) The neuter use “something else” is common in Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio: Dante's ''Tra tutto l'altro ch'i' t'ho dimostrato'' (among all the rest I have shown you, ''Inferno'' 14).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ Many fixed combinations grew from it: ''altresì'', ''altrettanto'' and ''altrimenti'' in the 13th century, ''altrove'' and ''altronde'' in the 14th, and the exclamation ''altroché'' “and how!” in 1909.^(Nocentini 2010) ''Altruismo'' (1875) was taken from French ''altruisme'', itself formed on the French form of ''altrui''.^(Nocentini 2010) In recent usage ''altro'' can follow a noun in the sense “alternative”, as in ''cultura altra''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1037–1089 – The word appears in an Umbrian confession formula.^(TLIO)

+ * End of the 12th century – It is recorded in the rents of the Badia di Coltibuono.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 13th century – ''Altri'', ''altrui'', ''altresì'' and ''altrettanto'' are recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''un altro'' “someone else”.^(LEI|2, 240)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 14th century – ''Altrove'' and ''altronde'' are recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1875 – ''Altruismo'' is borrowed from French.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1909 – ''Altroché'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Determiner===

+ # [[m|en|other]], [[m|en|different]]: not the same as the one mentioned or meant: ''ci vediamo un altro giorno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With the definite article, the remaining one or ones: ''gli altri ospiti arrivano dopo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # [[m|en|another]], one more: ''vuoi un'altra fetta di torta?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A second, a new: ''si crede un altro Leonardo''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # In time expressions, previous (''l'altra sera'') or next (''quest'altra settimana''); ''domani l'altro'', the day after tomorrow.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # After ''noi'', ''voi'' and indefinite words, as a reinforcement: ''chiunque altro'', ''noi altri''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # After a noun, alternative, outside the mainstream: ''musica altra''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Another person or thing: ''questo non mi piace, prendo l'altro''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' Other people, everyone else: ''non pensa mai agli altri''.^(Wiktionary)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(masculine singular)'' Something else, anything else: ''desidera altro?''^(Wiktionary)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[altri]]

+ * [[altrui]]

+ * [[altruismo]]

+ * [[altruista]]

+ * [[altresì]]

+ * [[altrettanto]]

+ * [[altrimenti]]

+ * [[altrove]]

+ * [[altronde]]

+ * [[altroché]]

+ * [[altrieri]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[alterare]]

+ * [[alterno]]

+ * [[alternativa]]

+ * [[subalterno]]

+ * [[alieno]]

+ * [[la|alter]]

+ * [[fr|autre]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''d'altra parte'' and ''d'altro canto'' (on the other hand), ''tra l'altro'' (among other things), ''senz'altro'' (certainly) and ''l'altro mondo'' (the afterlife).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(GRADIT 2003) ''Altro che'' as an answer means “of course!”.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}