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Origin and history of alternate

alternate(adj.)

"following each other by turns, reciprocal," 1510s, from Latin alternatus "one after the other," past participle of alternare "to do first one thing then the other; exchange parts," from alternus "one after the other, alternate, in turns, reciprocal," from alter "the other" (see alter).

Alternate means "by turns;" alternative means "offering a choice." Both imply two kinds or things. Alternation is the process of two things following one another regularly by turns (as night and day); an alternative is a choice of two things, the acceptance of one implying the rejection of the other. Related: Alternacy.

alternate(v.)

1590s, "do by turns" (transitive), from Latin alternatus, past participle of alternare "do one thing and then another, do by turns," from alternus "one after the other, alternate, in turns, reciprocal," from alter "the other" (see alter). Replaced Middle English alternen "to vary, alternate" (early 15c.). Transitive meaning "interchange reciprocally" is from 1850; intransitive sense "follow one another in time or place" is from c. 1700; that of "pass back and forth between actions, conditions, etc." is by 1823. Related: Alternated; alternating.

alternate(n.)

1718, "that which alternates (with anything else)," from alternate (adj.). Meaning "a substitute, one authorized to take the place of another," especially in political bodies, is first attested 1848.

also from 1718

Entries linking to alternate

alter(v.)

late 14c., "to change (something), make different in some way," from Old French alterer "to change, alter," from Medieval Latin alterare "to change," from Latin alter "the other (of the two)," from PIE root *al- (1) "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (as in other). Intransitive sense "to become otherwise" first recorded 1580s. Related: Altered; altering.

alternating(adj.)

1550s, "occurring or acting by turns, one after the other," present-participle adjective from alternate (v.). Electrical alternating current is recorded from 1839, an electrical current which flows alternately in opposite directions without interruption.

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alternative
1580s, "offering one or the other of two," from Medieval Latin alternativus, from Latin alternatus, past participle of alternare "do one thing and then another, do by turns," from alternus "one after the other, alternate, in turns, reciprocal," from alter "the other" (see alter).
opposite
late 14c., "placed or situated on the other side of (something)," from Old French opposite, oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.), from Latin oppositus "standing against, opposed, opposite," past participle of opponere "set against," from assimilated form of ob "in front of, in the
jump
1520s, "make a spring from the ground" (intransitive), a word with no apparent source in Old or Middle English, perhaps imitative (compare bump (v.)); another theory derives it from words in Gallo-Roman dialects of southwestern France (such as jumba "to rock, to balance, swing,"
parallax
parallaxis "change, alteration, inclination of two lines meeting at an angle," from parallassein "to alter, make things alternate...
supprise
The noun later also had sense "oppression; surprise attack," but perhaps originally was an alternate form of surprise used...
vice versa
"the order being changed," c. 1600, Latin, from vice, ablative of vicis "a change, alternation, alternate order" (from PIE...
pendulum
and is free to swing;" specifically, in mechanics, "a body so suspended from a fixed point as to move to and fro by the alternate...
learn
Old English leornian "to get knowledge, be cultivated; study, read, think about," from Proto-Germanic *lisnojanan (cognates: Old Frisian lernia, Middle Dutch leeren, Dutch leren, Old High German lernen, German lernen "to learn," Gothic lais "I know"), with a base sense of "to fol
renal
"of or pertaining to the kidneys," 1650s, from French rénal and directly from Late Latin renalis "of or belonging to kidneys," from Latin ren (plural renes) "kidneys," a word of of uncertain etymology, with possible cognates in Old Irish aru "kidney, gland," Welsh arenn "kidney,
flip-flop
also flip flop, "plastic thong beach sandal," by 1970, imitative of the sound of walking in them. Flip-flap had been used in various senses, mostly echoic or imitative of a kind of loose flapping movement, since 1520s: Flip-flaps, a peculiar rollicking dance indulged in by coste

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