other: [OE] Other is one of a widespread family of Germanic words expressing ‘alternative’, represented today also by German and Dutch ander. The prehistoric ancestor of all three was *antheraz, which came ultimately from an Indo- European *ánteros. This, a comparative formation based on *an-, may have been related to Latin alter ‘other’ (source of English alter, alternative, etc).
other (adj.)
Old English oþer "the second" (adj.), also as a pronoun, "one of the two, other," from Proto-Germanic *antharaz (cognates: Old Saxon athar, Old Frisian other, Old Norse annarr, Middle Dutch and Dutch ander, Old High German andar, German ander, Gothic anþar "other").
These are from PIE *an-tero-, variant of *al-tero- "the other of two" (source of Lithuanian antras, Sanskrit antarah "other, foreign," Latin alter), from root *al- (1) "beyond" (see alias (adv.)) + adjectival comparative suffix *-tero-. The Old English, Old Saxon, and Old Frisian forms show "a normal loss of n before fricatives" [Barnhart]. Meaning "different" is mid-13c.
Sense of "second" was detached from this word in English (which uses second, from Latin) and German (zweiter, from zwei "two") to avoid ambiguity. In Scandinavian, however, the second floor is still the "other" floor (Swedish andra, Danish anden). Also compare Old English oþergeara "next year."
The other woman "a woman with whom a man begins a love affair while he is already committed" is from 1855. The other day originally (mid-12c.) was "the next day;" later (c. 1300) "yesterday;" and now, loosely, "a day or two ago" (early 15c.). Phrase other half in reference to either the poor or the rich, is recorded from c. 1600.
La moitié du monde ne sçayt comment l'aultre vit. [Rabelais, "Pantagruel," 1532]
双语例句
1. You can chat to other people who are online.
你可以和其他在线的人聊天。
来自柯林斯例句
2. "All the best," called the other typists in chorus.
“祝万事如意，”其他打字员齐声喊道。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Try to support each other when one of you is feeling down.
当有人觉得情绪低落时，要努力相互打气。
来自柯林斯例句
4. After sixteen years of marriage they have grown bored with each other.
