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oth·er (ŭthər)
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adj.
1.
a. Being the remaining one of two or more: the other ear.
b. Being the remaining ones of several: His other books are still in storage.
2. Different from that or those implied or specified: Any other person would tell the truth.
3. Of a different character or quality: "a strange, other dimension ... where his powers seemed to fail" (Lance Morrow).
4. Of a different time or era either future or past: other centuries; other generations.
5. Additional; extra: I have no other shoes.
6. Opposite or contrary; reverse: the other side.
7. Alternate; second: every other day.
8. Of the recent past: just the other day.
n.
1.
a. The remaining one of two or more: One took a taxi, and the other walked home.
b. others The remaining ones of several: After her departure the others resumed the discussion.
2.
a. A different person or thing: one hurricane after the other.
b. An additional person or thing: How many others will come later?
c. often Other A person or thing considered to represent or epitomize difference or an outgroup. Used with the.
pron.
1. A different or an additional person or thing: We'll get someone or other to replace him.
2. others People aside from oneself: "the eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages" (Virginia Woolf).
adv.
In another way; otherwise; differently: The car performed other than perfectly.

[Middle English, from Old English ōther; see al-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.