*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of other

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros Proto-Germanic *anþeraz Proto-West Germanic *anþar Old English ōþer Middle English other English other From Middle Engli

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adv

Otherwise.

adj

See other (determiner) below. · Second. · Alien. · Different.

det

Not the one or ones previously referred to.

noun

An other, another (person, etc), more often rendered as another. · The other one; the second of two.

verb

To regard, label, or treat as an "other", as not part of the same group; to view as different and alien. · To treat as different or separate; segregate; ostracise.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros Proto-Germanic *anþeraz Proto-West Germanic *anþar Old English ōþer Middle English other English other From Middle English other, from Old English ōþer (“other, second”), from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄þar, *anþar, from Proto-Germanic *anþeraz (“other, second”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros (“other”). Cognate with Scots uther, ither (“other”), Old Frisian ōther, ("other"; > North Frisian ouder, öler, üđer, Saterland Frisian uur, West Frisian oar), Old Saxon ōthar, ("other"; > Low German anner), Old Dutch āthar, ("other"; > Afrikaans ander, Dutch ander), Old High German andar, ("other"; > Cimbrian andar, German ander, anderer, Luxembourgish aner, Mòcheno ònder, Yiddish אַנדער (ander)), Old Norse annarr, ("other"; > Danish anden, Faroese annar, Icelandic annar, Jamtish æðnen, ænnen, Norwegian Bokmål annen, Norwegian Nynorsk annan, Swedish annan), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 (anþar, “other”), Old Prussian anters, antars (“other, second”), Lithuanian antroks (“other”, pronoun), Latvian otrs, otrais (“second”), Macedonian втор (vtor, “second”), Albanian ndërroj (“to change; to switch; to alternate”), Sanskrit अन्त॑र (ántara, “different”). French autre, Spanish otro, Portuguese outro, etc., all from Latin alter, are false cognates. A true cognate would be Latin anterior.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:other",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂én\nProto-Indo-European *-teros\nProto-Indo-European *h₂énteros\nProto-Germanic *anþeraz\nProto-West Germanic *anþar\nOld English ōþer\nMiddle English other\nEnglish other\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*anþeraz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*anþar\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ōþer\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"other\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"other\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"other\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "other"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English other"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ōþer",
        "4": "",
        "5": "other, second"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ōþer (“other, second”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*ą̄þar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *ą̄þar"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*anþeraz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "other, second"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *anþeraz (“other, second”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₂énteros",
        "4": "",
        "5": "other"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros (“other”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "uther"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots uther"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ofs",
        "2": "oþer",
        "3": "ōther"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Frisian ōther"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "ouder"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian ouder"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "uur"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian uur"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "oar"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian oar"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"other\"; > North Frisian <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"frr\">ouder</i>, <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"frr\">öler</i>, <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"frr\">üđer</i>, Saterland Frisian <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"stq\">uur</i>, West Frisian <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"fy\">oar</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"other\"; > North Frisian ouder, öler, üđer, Saterland Frisian uur, West Frisian oar)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "ōthar"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon ōthar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "anner"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German anner"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"other\"; > Low German <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nds\">anner</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"other\"; > Low German anner)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "odt",
        "2": "āthar"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Dutch āthar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "af",
        "2": "ander"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans ander"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "ander"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch ander"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"other\"; > Afrikaans <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"af\">ander</i>, Dutch <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nl\">ander</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"other\"; > Afrikaans ander, Dutch ander)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "andar"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German andar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cim",
        "2": "andar"
      },
      "expansion": "Cimbrian andar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ander"
      },
      "expansion": "German ander"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "aner"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish aner"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mhn",
        "2": "ònder"
      },
      "expansion": "Mòcheno ònder"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "אַנדער"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish אַנדער (ander)"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"other\"; > Cimbrian <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"cim\">andar</i>, German <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"de\">ander</i>, <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"de\">anderer</i>, Luxembourgish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"lb\">aner</i>, Mòcheno <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"mhn\">ònder</i>, Yiddish <i class=\"Hebr mention\" lang=\"yi\">אַנדער</i> (ander)"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"other\"; > Cimbrian andar, German ander, anderer, Luxembourgish aner, Mòcheno ònder, Yiddish אַנדער (ander))"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "annarr"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse annarr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "anden"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish anden"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "annar"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese annar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "annar"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic annar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmq-jmk",
        "2": "æðnen"
      },
      "expansion": "Jamtish æðnen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "annen"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål annen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "annan"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk annan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "annan"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish annan"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"other\"; > Danish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"da\">anden</i>, Faroese <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"fo\">annar</i>, Icelandic <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"is\">annar</i>, Jamtish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"gmq-jmk\">æðnen</i>, <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"gmq-jmk\">ænnen</i>, Norwegian Bokmål <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nb\">annen</i>, Norwegian Nynorsk <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nn\">annan</i>, Swedish <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"sv\">annan</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"other\"; > Danish anden, Faroese annar, Icelandic annar, Jamtish æðnen, ænnen, Norwegian Bokmål annen, Norwegian Nynorsk annan, Swedish annan)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂",
        "3": "",
        "4": "other"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂 (anþar, “other”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "prg",
        "2": "anters"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Prussian anters"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "antroks",
        "3": "",
        "4": "other",
        "pos": "pronoun"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian antroks (“other”, pronoun)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "otrs"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian otrs"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mk",
        "2": "втор",
        "3": "",
        "4": "second"
      },
      "expansion": "Macedonian втор (vtor, “second”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "ndërroj",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to change; to switch; to alternate"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian ndërroj (“to change; to switch; to alternate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "अन्त॑र",
        "3": "",
        "4": "different"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit अन्त॑र (ántara, “different”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "autre"
      },
      "expansion": "French autre"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "es",
        "2": "otro"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish otro"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
        "2": "outro"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese outro"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "alter"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin alter"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "anterior"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin anterior"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:other",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂én\nProto-Indo-European *-teros\nProto-Indo-European *h₂énteros\nProto-Germanic *anþeraz\nProto-West Germanic *anþar\nOld English ōþer\nMiddle English other\nEnglish other"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂én",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂én"
    ],
    [
      "*-teros",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-teros"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂énteros",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂énteros#Proto-Indo-European:_second"
    ],
    [
      "*anþeraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/anþeraz#Proto-Germanic:_second"
    ],
    [
      "*anþar",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/anþar"
    ],
    [
      "ōþer",
      "oþer#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "other",
      "other#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "other",
      "other#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ōþer",
      "oþer#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ą̄þar",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ą̄þar"
    ],
    [
      "*anþar",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/anþar"
    ],
    [
      "*anþeraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/anþeraz"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂énteros",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂énteros"
    ],
    [
      "uther",
      "uther#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "ither",
      "ither#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "ōther",
      "oþer#Old_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "North Frisian",
      "w:North Frisian language"
    ],
    [
      "ouder",
      "ouder#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "öler",
      "öler#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "üđer",
      "üđer#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Saterland Frisian",
      "w:Saterland Frisian language"
    ],
    [
      "uur",
      "uur#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "West Frisian",
      "w:West Frisian language"
    ],
    [
      "oar",
      "oar#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "ōthar",
      "othar#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "Low German",
      "w:Low German"
    ],
    [
      "anner",
      "anner#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "āthar",
      "athar#Old_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Afrikaans",
      "w:Afrikaans"
    ],
    [
      "ander",
      "ander#Afrikaans"
    ],
    [
      "Dutch",
      "w:Dutch language"
    ],
    [
      "ander",
      "ander#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "andar",
      "andar#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Cimbrian",
      "w:Cimbrian language"
    ],
    [
      "andar",
      "andar#Cimbrian"
    ],
    [
      "German",
      "w:German language"
    ],
    [
      "ander",
      "ander#German"
    ],
    [
      "anderer",
      "anderer#German"
    ],
    [
      "Luxembourgish",
      "w:Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "aner",
      "aner#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "Mòcheno",
      "w:Mòcheno language"
    ],
    [
      "ònder",
      "ònder#Mòcheno"
    ],
    [
      "Yiddish",
      "w:Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "אַנדער",
      "אַנדער#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "annarr",
      "annarr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "w:Danish language"
    ],
    [
      "anden",
      "anden#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "w:Faroese language"
    ],
    [
      "annar",
      "annar#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "Icelandic",
      "w:Icelandic language"
    ],
    [
      "annar",
      "annar#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "Jamtish",
      "w:Jämtland dialects"
    ],
    [
      "æðnen",
      "æðnen#Jamtish"
    ],
    [
      "ænnen",
      "ænnen#Jamtish"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "w:Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "annen",
      "annen#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "w:Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "annan",
      "annan#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "Swedish",
      "w:Swedish language"
    ],
    [
      "annan",
      "annan#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂",
      "𐌰𐌽𐌸𐌰𐍂#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "anters",
      "anters#Old_Prussian"
    ],
    [
      "antars",
      "antars#Old_Prussian"
    ],
    [
      "antroks",
      "antroks#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "otrs",
      "otrs#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "otrais",
      "otrais#Latvian"
    ],
    [
      "втор",
      "втор#Macedonian"
    ],
    [
      "ndërroj",
      "ndërroj#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "अन्त॑र",
      "अन्तर#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "autre",
      "autre#French"
    ],
    [
      "otro",
      "otro#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "outro",
      "outro#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "alter",
      "alter#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "false cognate",
      "false cognate"
    ],
    [
      "cognate",
      "cognate"
    ],
    [
      "anterior",
      "anterior#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Otherwise."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "0d19b55fd6c213e0f291769300084759c262d41fbb3bae8b33b8274e4d7c8682",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7a1f3d5ca636c76794298f52e1821ef2e35c2011075621fc767e5c3d74fee344",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18385
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "See other (determiner) below.",
        "Second.",
        "Alien.",
        "Different."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "formal"
      ],
      "recordId": "14f0ec1a0e1a46e8822f616b052b6174a3a36dd70ec6a3af843dd23800988f06",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1ace1dada08733908a2bb50d8b29ac14c3f06b4636e395a99766f0cf061b596c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18382
    },
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "Not the one or ones previously referred to."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "30cdb76a446d1c3af5f965e0c68e293c7562ef2ad61b7fed6839993ff906b848",
      "rawRecordSha256": "233e488bf1fab0daa230c242c4d6e2e12415233d535bd00bf1ebd652b4ea0eb7",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18384
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An other, another (person, etc), more often rendered as another.",
        "The other one; the second of two."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5e900be21688bee5b1498d218e99c069a3829de90b9b0cbe1656035801a3f6a4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "979049b13fceda390fb0ebbc0928e36c63ff20780595dad3055e2e9a56b7e1c8",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18383
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To regard, label, or treat as an \"other\", as not part of the same group; to view as different and alien.",
        "To treat as different or separate; segregate; ostracise."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "8e0bf8c253b51bd40ab4d89be10a1d88499628d52cb263485e804b3524d91d17",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7be9ae804bcb60536fd6ff51e31c362edcbbebec5e980eaa645286682434f7a4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18386
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for other →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b3RoZXI