Etymograph

English

otherwise

Otherwise comes from Middle English otherwise, and goes back to Old English on ōþre wīsan.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150on ōþre wīsan1literally ‘in (on) other/different manner’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500otherwise1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1611otherwise1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English otherwise
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150on ōþre wīsanWiktionary, English otherwiseliterally ‘in (on) other/different manner’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500otherwiseWiktionary, English otherwise
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1611otherwiseWiktionary, English otherwise. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to…”

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Today it means

adv Differently, in another way.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “otherwise”. 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 / Old English on ōþre wīsan / otherwise