Etymograph

English

other

Other comes from Old English ōþer ‘other, second’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros ‘other’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂én ‘there, on the other side’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂én1‘there, on the other side’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énteros1‘second, other’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*anþeraz1‘other, second’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*anþar1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ōþer1‘other, second’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500other1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596other1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English other
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto XII: “A diſtaffe in her other hand ſhe had, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énWiktionary, English other‘there, on the other side’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énterosWiktionary, English other‘second, other’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*anþerazWiktionary, English other‘other, second’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*anþarWiktionary, English otherreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ōþerWiktionary, English other‘other, second’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500otherWiktionary, English other
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596otherWiktionary, English other. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto XII: “A diſtaffe in her other hand ſhe had, /…”

The story

French autre, Spanish otro, Portuguese outro, etc., all from Latin alter, are false cognates. A true cognate would be Latin anterior.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂énteros

anterior, 2 more

Today it means

adj See other (determiner) below.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “other”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂én / other

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