alternative

See also: Alternative

English

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alternative

Wikipedia

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.

Pronunciation

enPR: ŏl-tûr′nə-tĭv

(Received Pronunciation, contemporary) IPA^(key): /ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/
(Received Pronunciation, conservatism) IPA^(key): /ɔːlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/
(dialects, US, without the cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
(General American, cot–caught merger, dialects of Canada) IPA^(key): /ɑlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/
- Audio (California): (file)
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɔlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/
(New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɒlˈtøː.nə.təv/, [ɔ̟lˈtøː.nə.təv]

Adjective

alternative (not comparable)

Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities.
an alternative proposition

There are two alternative theories as to why this phenomenon occurs.
- 1911, “Phillips v. Rohrer”, in Penn State Law Review, volume 16, →OCLC, page 46:
  Reason would seem to dictate that it was an alternative offer,—either to receive $15,000 if the grantor perform the condition or $12,000 if he did not perform the condition.
- 2014, C.A. Longhurst, Unamuno's Theory of the Novel‎^[1], Routledge, →ISBN, page 162:
  Who is right, Augusto or Unamuno? In general critics have seen this confrontation as offering an alternative choice: either we are free or we are predetermined.
1. (linguistics) Presenting two or more alternatives.
  Synonym: disjunctive
  
  alternative conjunctions like or
Other; different from something else.
- 2011 May 11, Sam Leith, “Sam Leith's top 10 alternative realities”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 7 March 2021:
  Exploring alternative realities isn't just a game for boys. In 1666, Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, published a utopian fantasy of compelling strangeness.
Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground.
alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock
(obsolete) Alternate, reciprocal.
- 1601, Pliny the Elder, “Of the seuen Planets”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The History of the World Commonly Called the Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus, translation of Naturalis Historia (in Classical Latin), page 3:
  He [the Sun] it is that giveth light to all things, and riddeth them from darkneſſe : hee hideth the other ſtarres, and ſheweth them againe : he ordereth the ſeaſons in their alternative courſe : he tempereth the yeere, ariſing ever freſh and new againe, for the benefite and good of the world.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

relating to a choice

Armenian: այլընտրանքային (hy) (ayləntrankʻayin)
Belarusian: альтэрнаты́ўны (alʹternatýwny)
Bulgarian: алтернати́вен (bg) (alternatíven), друга възможност (druga vǎzmóžnost), или-или (bg) (ili ili)
Catalan: alternatiu (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 選項 / 选项 (zh) (xuǎnxiàng)
Czech: alternativní (cs)
Danish: alternativ
Dutch: alternatief (nl)
Esperanto: anstataŭa
Finnish: vaihtoehtoinen (fi)
French: alternatif (fr) m
Galician: alternativo (gl) m
German: alternativ (de)
Greek: εναλλακτικός (el) m (enallaktikós), προαιρετικός (el) m (proairetikós)
Hindi: वैकल्पिक (hi) (vaikalpik)
Hungarian: vagylagos (hu)
Italian: alternativo (it) m
Kazakh: балама (balama)
Malay: alternatif (ms)
Malayalam: ബദൽ (ml) (badal), പകരം (ml) (pakaraṁ)
Mirandese: alternatibo m
Norwegian: alternativ (no)
Polish: alternatywny (pl) m
Portuguese: alternativo (pt)
Russian: альтернати́вный (ru) (alʹternatívnyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: а̏лтернатӣван

Latin: ȁlternatīvan (sh)
Slovak: alternatívny
Spanish: alternativo (es)
Swedish: alternativ (sv)
Telugu: ప్రత్యామ్నాయం (te) (pratyāmnāyaṁ)
Ukrainian: альтернати́вний (uk) (alʹternatývnyj)

(linguistics) presenting two or more alternatives

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: választó (hu)

other

Belarusian: альтэрнаты́ўны (alʹternatýwny)
Bulgarian: алтернати́вен (bg) (alternatíven), друг (bg) m (drug), различен (bg) m (razlíčen)
Catalan: alternatiu (ca)
Danish: alternativ
Esperanto: anstataŭa
Finnish: vaihtoehtoinen (fi)
French: autre (fr)
Galician: alternativo (gl) m
German: alternativ (de)
Greek: εναλλακτικός (el) m (enallaktikós)
Hindi: वैकल्पिक (hi) (vaikalpik)
Hungarian: alternatív (hu), másik (hu), más (hu)
Italian: alternativo (it) m
Japanese: 代替 (ja) (daitai)
Malayalam: പകരം (ml) (pakaraṁ)
Norwegian: alternativ (no)
Polish: alternatywny (pl) m
Portuguese: alternativo (pt)
Russian: альтернати́вный (ru) (alʹternatívnyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: а̏лтернатӣван

Latin: ȁlternatīvan (sh)
Swedish: alternativ (sv)
Telugu: ప్రత్యామ్నాయం (te) (pratyāmnāyaṁ)
Turkish: başka (tr), farklı (tr)
Ukrainian: альтернати́вний (uk) (alʹternatývnyj)

not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground

Bulgarian: алтернативен (bg) (alternativen), необичаен (bg) m (neobičaen)
Catalan: alternatiu (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 另類 / 另类 (zh) (lìnglèi)
Hungarian: alternatív (hu)
Polish: alternatywny (pl)
Portuguese: alternativo (pt)
Spanish: alternativo (es)

Noun

alternative (plural alternatives)

A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities. [from 17th c.]
I gave you the alternative; you decided to stay.
- 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter [XI], in Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 268:
  “The cloister or a betrothed husband?” I echoed—“Is that the alternative destined for Miss Vernon?”
One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen. [from 17th c.]
- 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison‎^[3]:
  Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The Constitution is either a superior, paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative acts, and, like other acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter it.
The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted. [from 18th c.]
(uncountable, music) alternative rock
A non-offensive word or phrase that serves as a replacement for a word deemed offensive or unacceptable, though not as a euphemism.
Disability activists discourage the use of the words "crazy" and "insane" due to their negative connections to mental health, suggesting alternatives such as "wild", "silly", or "out of this world", which do not relate to mental health.