| 释义 |
▪ I. other, a. pron. (n.)|ˈʌðə(r)|
Forms: 1 óðer, óþer, 2–5 oþer, inflected oþre, 4– other. Also 3 Orm. oþerr, 3–4 oþur, -eir, -air, -ier, -ir, -ere, -ure, (5 -yr, -ire), 4 oiþer, ooþer, 4–5 othur, -yr, -ere, -ar, 4–6 othir, oother, -ir, 5 othre, 5–7 oyer (= oþer), 6 wother; Sc. 4 uthyre, wthir(e, -yre, wyther, ouþer, 4–6 uthir, 4–7 uther, -ere, 6 vyer, -ir (= uþer, -ir), 7 wther, 8– ither. Also 3 Orm. oderr, 4–6 oder, -ir, -ur, -yr, 5 woder, -ur, 6 Sc. uder, -ir, 6– north. udder.
[Com. Teut.: OE. óþer, óðer = OFris. ôther (oder, ander), OS. ôðar, âðar, andar, (MLG., MDu., LG., Du. ander), OHG. ander (MHG., Ger. ander), ON. annar-, Goth. anþar = Skr. ántara-s, Lith. àntras, and prob. L. alter:—OAryan *anteros; a word formed with the usual comparative suffix of adjs., in Skr. -tara-s, Gr. -τερο-ς, L. -ter, Eng. -ther, in whether, etc. The same root appears in Skr. an-yá-s other, different: cf. L. al-ius, al-ter.]
A. adj.
†1.
a. One of the two, the one (of two); L. alter. Obs.
(This is an OTeut. sense of the word, found also with OS. ôðar and ON. annar-. The suggestion that in this sense OE. óðer was a form of áwðer, áðer, ME. outher, ‘either’, ‘one or other’, is erroneous: there is no ground for assuming that OE. had any ôðer except that which was identical with Goth. anþar, ON. annar-.)
c893K. ælfred Oros. iii. vii. §3 Him..wearþ oþer eaᵹe mid anre flan ut ascoten. Ibid. iv. i. §6 Þær wearð Pirrus wund on oþran earme. a900O.E. Martyrol. 26 June 106 An stræl..hine ᵹewundode on his oðer ᵹewenge. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. iv. 4 Her other leg was lame. 1596Ibid. v. xii. 36 A distaffe in her other hand she had.
(The quots. from Spenser are evidently archaic, and it is possible that in them other means ‘left’ like Germ. ander.)
†b. other..other: the one..the other (L. alter..alter..); one..another (L. alius..alius..). Only in OE.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xl. 291 Oðer hira wæs haten Timotheus, oðer Titus. a900Laws of ælfred Introd. c. 43 Ne dem þu oðerne dom þam weleᵹan, oðerne þam eorman, ne oðerne þam liofran, and oðerne þam laðran ne dem þu. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. x. (1890) 136 Cume þurh oþre duru in, ðurh oþre ut ᵹewite.
2. a. That one of two which remains after one is taken, defined, or specified; the remaining (person, thing, or group) of two; later, also, of three or more. Usually prec. by the or an equivalent demonstrative or possessive word (e.g. his other foot, the man's other name or names); but in OE. óþer alone could have this sense.
on the other hand: see hand n. 32 i.
c893K. ælfred Oros. Contents iv. vii, Hu Gallie wunnon on Romane, & Pene on oþre healfe. Ibid. iv. vi. §2 Se oðer consul ᵹehierde Diulius. c900Ags. Ps. (Th.) xlix. 21 Betwuh þe and þinre modor suna oðrum. c1175Lamb. Hom. 43 He wes an biscop on eoðre liue. a1300Cursor M. 10679 (Cott.) On oþer side he was dredand To bring a custom neu on hand. a1425Ibid. 3309 (Trin.) Þis oþere mon myȝte not blin To biholde þis fair maydin. 1462Coventry Constitutions in Ellacombe Bells of Ch. ix. (1872) 469 Ye todur dekyn [shall have] ye wodur alffe. a1584Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 44 The turtle, on the vther syde, Na plesure had to play. 1605Shakes. Lear iv. ii. 81 But (O poore Glouster) Lost he his other eye? 1615Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems xiv. 2 His corps doth heir duell, Bot qr be his oyer halfe no man can tell. 1711Addison Spect. No. 56 ⁋2 To the great Repository of Souls, or, as we call it here, to the other World. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier i. 48, I was on the other Side the Elbe. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 204 The other member for the county of Dublin was Colonel Patrick Sarsfield.
b. every other, every second, every alternate.
1480Caxton Chron. Eng. cxlv. 124 For whiche raunsoune to be payed eche other chalyce of englond was molte and made in to moneye. 1588Greene Perimedes 21 Spending euery other day in such sporte. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 309 Every other day cleanse both the wounds and rols. 1712–13Swift Let. to Mrs. Dingley 25 Jan., We now resolve to..have a committee every other week. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. Introd. 13 Every other year there was a revolution.
c. the other half: (a) the other half of the world; people of a different class or those enjoying a different (usu. more affluent) way of life, spec. in phr. how the other half live(s); (b) orig. Naval slang: a second drink; a drink bought in return for another.
(a) [1532Rabelais Pantagruel (1547) II. xxxi. 206 La moitié du monde ne sçayt comment l'aultre vit. 1607J. Hall Holy Observations xvii. 26 One half of the world knowes not how the other liues.] 1640G. Herbert Outlandish Proverbs No. 907, in Witts Recreations sig. D7v Halfe the world knowes not how the other halfe lies [sic]. 1830Marryat King's Own I. x. 141 It is an old proverb that ‘one half the world do not know how the other half live.’ Add to it, nor where they live. 1890J. A. Riis How Other Half Lives 1 Long ago it was said that ‘one half of the world does not know how the other half lives’. Ibid. 3 The sufferings and sins of the ‘other half’..are but..a just punishment upon the community that gave it no other choice. 1945N. L. McClung Stream runs Fast xiii. 106 We were only amateurs but we did find out a few things about how the ‘other half’ lived. 1965E. O'Brien Aug. is Wicked Month xiii. 141 ‘Why not, see how the other half live...’ she said... They would have the pool and servants to wait on them. 1968J. Sangster Touchfeather xiii. 140 He said if I was ever in Los Angeles to look him up. Glad I did. Talk about how the other half lives! 1970‘D. Shannon’ Unexpected Death (1971) ix. 141 ‘My God,’ said Higgins. ‘How the other half lives.’ 1975Times 15 Jan. 15/4 In the interests of national unity, may I support your plea to the other half (and if they do not know they are in it, that is half the trouble) to accept that the shocking conditions of the London comprehensives as reported by you are really good for their children, and for society.
(b)1922W. S. Maugham On Chinese Screen lii. 211 No sooner was your glass empty than he was prompt with the China phrase: ‘Ready for the other half?’ 1931C. Lithgow Simple Sailor xv. 184 You won't have the other half? Sure? 1936‘G. Orwell’ Keep Aspidistra Flying v. 117 Drink up!.. It's time we had the other half of that. 1965R. Jeffries Dead against Lawyers vii. 69 You'll have the other half, Inspector? Two whiskies under the belt are better than one. 1966A. Prior Operators ii. 16 ‘The other half please, George.’ ‘Yessir, Mr. Barclay.’.. The barman turned to him. 1975E. Berckman Indecent Exposure viii. 101 ‘Have to be shoving off now, sorry—.’ ‘The other half,’ Dennison objected. ‘What were you drinking, whisky—?’
d. the other side: (a) the world to come, the world beyond the grave, esp. as inhabited by the spirits of the dead; (b) Austral. and N.Z. slang (see quots.); (c) an opponent or an opposing side; one regarded as such.
(a)1684Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress ii. 220 So he passed over, and the Trumpets sounded for him on the other side. 1819[see side n.1 12 a fig.]. 1926A. Conan Doyle Hist. Spiritualism I. viii. 187 The sharp detail which we receive from the Other Side is incompatible with any vague grandiose idea of the sort. 1941Auden New Year Let. 38 It is Utopian to be dead, For only on the Other Side Are Absolutes all satisfied. 1945A. Huxley Time must have Stop vi. 66 Are they still obese on the other side? I'd like to ask next time you have a séance. 1960M. Spark Bachelors ii. 22 When Patrick's under the control I shouldn't think he could help saying what comes to him from the other side. 1973Listener 8 Mar. 306/2 Max [Aitken]..is devoted to the memory of his father [sc. Beaverbrook] and..allows his father to edit the paper from the Other Side. 1974‘D. Shannon’ Crime File xii. 185 They went to Katie May Blaine's funeral... ‘You don't want to worry,’ she told Mrs. Blaine simply. ‘She's being looked after, the other side.’
(b)1855W. Howitt Land, Labour & Gold ii. 362 Scenery precisely like hundreds of miles which I have seen ‘on the other side’, as they call Victoria, and as the Victorians call Van Diemen's Land. 1884A. Cox Recollections 125, I ax your pardon, zur, but were you ever at the Yan Yean works over the other side? a1948L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 389 Other side,..Australia. 1963X. Herbert Disturbing Element 2 My parents..were what were called T'othersiders, meaning people who had come to West Australia from the other side of the continent.
(c)1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin xiv. 259 Their expeditions to that region known as ‘the other side’, for the express purpose of discomforting the Hun. 1939‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife iii. 57 They've youth and independence and courage. They're England. And you know what the other side says—‘Woman is for the recreation of the warrior’. 1966I. Asimov Fantastic Voyage i. 19 I've met him several times at scientific conferences on the other side. 1967B. Norman Matter of Mandrake xxv. 211 There was a change of plan... The Other Side was becoming too worried. 1972Sat. Rev. Society (U.S.) Dec. 33/2 The way is far more open..to similar wars of ‘agression’ or ‘national liberation’ or whatever the Vietnam War has been. The ‘other side’ can now engage in such activities with the understanding that the United States will be very reluctant to intervene. 1976B. Freemantle November Man iv. 45 Hugo will know it was an attempt on his life... If he runs to the other side, everything is going to be easy for us.
e. the other place: one place regarded from the point of view of or with reference to another place; euphem., Hell (as opp. Heaven). Also in depreciatory senses; spec. Oxford as regarded in Cambridge (and vice versa).
1841F. A. Kemble Let. 29 Dec. in Rec. Later Life (1882) II. 156, I conclude that letters will occasionally come to heaven, and always be written in—the other place. 1874‘Mark Twain’ Gilded Age xi. 108 Washington was alternately in paradise or the other place just as it happened that Louise was gracious to him or seemingly indifferent. 1880Trollope Duke's Children I. xx. 245 Shall I go to heaven for doing that?.. Or mayn't I rather go to the other place? 1920‘O. Douglas’ Penny Plain i. 13, I wouldn't much care to go to heaven myself, for all my friends are in..the Other Place. 1944A. Thirkell Headmistress ix. 204 Sir Hosea Weaver..a Cambridge man..had..taken the highest kind of degree that the other place can give in Political Economy. 1958Listener 14 Aug. 232/1 Cambridge has always tried to be more typical and less exotic than the other place. 1967V. Gielgud Conduct of Member ii. 15 There were Oxford men who persisted in speaking of Cambridge as ‘the other place’. 1970Guardian 22 Apr. 24/2 In the other place, it had been the rule to have sponsors since 1688 and Stormont had the same rule. 1972‘M. Innes’ Open House xi. 101 There being neither youth or age, sir, in the 'eavenly mansions—no, nor in the other place either. 1973Deb. Senate S. Afr. 17 May 2807, I am thinking..of the important task of industrial decentralization about which so much has been said in this House and in the Other Place. 1973‘M. Yorke’ Grave Matters v. ii. 84, I don't know Oxford at all well... I know the other place better. Isn't that what you call it? 1974Oxford Times 5 July 1/4 (heading) By punt to the other place. 1976Gramophone Oct. 552/2 In the old days, ‘the other place’ never seemed to me to compete at all, but it is very different now with several excellent offerings from Magdalen under Bernard Rose.
f. the other thing (colloq.): the contrary, opposite, or reverse; something quite different. euphem. sexual activity; the penis. Phr. to do the other thing: to do as one pleases (usu. as an expression of contemptuous dismissal).
1846Swell's Night Guide 89 The wealthy voluptuary cannot choose but be gratified, as far as feasting, drinking, and the other thing goes. 1848Trollope Kellys & O'Kellys I. vii. 172 They'd ax him to come and see his sister married, and av' he didn't like it, he might do the other thing. 1885C. M. Yonge Nuttie's Father II. xix. 224 It's the sort of thing that one only laughs at because otherwise one would have to do the other thing! 1913A. Bennett Regent i. vi. 165 You mean you won't!.. Well, you can do the other thing! 1922Joyce Ulysses 359 Besides there was absolution so long as you didn't do the other thing before being married. 1923E. P. Mathers tr. Mardrus's Bk. of Thousand Nights & One Night VII. 55 His heart is hard, his other thing is soft. 1929J. van Druten Young Woodley xii. 241 ‘You don't believe me?’ ‘I do not.’.. ‘Then you must do the other thing.’ 1953H. Clevely Public Enemy xxii. 165, I couldn't have a better home.., and anybody who doesn't like it can do the other thing. 1977‘D. Cory’ Bennett iv. 127 The C.D.I. wouldn't like it, no. But, then, he could always do the other thing.
g. the other man (and varr.): a man with whom a woman already in an amatory relationship forms a new attachment; a lover. Similarly the other woman: a woman with whom a man forms a new attachment in such circumstances; a mistress.
Quot. 1867 may not have the overtones of the other examples.
1855Browning Men & Women 88 Why must I..Put any kiss of pardon on thy brow? Why need the other women know so much? 1867Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxviii. 331 A woman, when she is jealous, is apt to attribute to the other woman with whom her jealousy is concerned, both weakness and timidity. 1886Kipling The Other Man in Plain Tales from Hills (1888) 80 They married her when she..had given all her poor little heart to another man... We will call him the Other Man. 1909F. L. Barclay Rosary xxiii. 242 The ‘other man’ is always a problem. 1912T. Dreiser Financier xxxvii. 418 Curiously, the other woman did not seem so vastly important—that is, who she was. 1920Ladies' Home Jrnl. Apr. 36 The cast includes Thomas Meighan as the husband, Gloria Swanson as the wife he changed, and Bebe Daniels as the other woman. 1927E. Glyn ‘It’ xiv. 137 What if being in the corner should make Ava go for help to the other man? 1935Mademoiselle Aug. 3/2 Mr. Montgomery is the erring husband and Mr. Tone the ‘other man’. 1946G. Millar Horned Pigeon xxi. 360 She told me that her engagement had been broken, in fact her fiancé..was already married to ‘the other woman’. 1953K. Tennant Joyful Condemned xxxix. 391 ‘Who's the other guy?’ ‘There isn't any other guy.’ 1966‘S. Ransome’ Hidden Hour ii. 20 She had been here before. With the ‘other man’? 1973G. Moffat Deviant Death i. 15, I had to sit in the corner and keep quiet. I knew how the other woman feels at the posh family funeral of her lover. 1975Daily Mirror 29 Apr. 9/5 They married in 1967 after Miss Smith was named as the ‘other woman’ by Mr. Stephens' first wife.
h. the other end: the person (or his location) with whom one is communicating by telephone.
1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? vi. 121 Julian managed to get Sammy on the other end of a telephone. 1974R. B. Parker Godwulf Manuscript iii. 17 The phone rang... The girl's voice at the other end was thick and very slow. 1978T. Allbeury Lantern Network xi. 160 The fruity voice on the other end of the line.
3.
†a. That follows the first; second (of two or more). Obs. (exc. as in b).
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xvi. [xxvii.] (1890) 64 Þætte..feower dælas beon scyle, an ærest biscope..oðer dæl Godes þeowum, þridda þearfum. c1000ælfric Gen. ii. 13 Ðære oðre ea nama ys Gion. c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 214 ᵹenim þysse ylcan wyrte croppas, ærest þry, æt oþrum sæle fif. c1175Lamb. Hom. 11 Þe oðer heste wes Ne haue þu þines drihtenes nome in nane aða. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3642 On ðat oðer twentide dai, of ðe oðe[r] moned. c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 72 Costome ys þe oþer kynde.
b. the other day: † (a) orig. The second day, the following or next day. † (b) The preceding day, yesterday. (c) Now, a day or two ago; a short time ago, recently. So the other night, other week, etc. Cf. F. l'autre jour.
(a)1154O.E. Chron. an. 1135 Ð[at] oþer dei þa he lai an slep in scip. c1300Havelok 1755 Hauelok..and his wif..wel do wayten al þe nith, Til þe oþer day. c1435Torr. Portugal 1190 Tille they at myd-mete was, On the other day at none. a1440Sir Eglam. 1005, V. and thretty knyghtys he madd, Be that odur day abowte none. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xiii. 14 b, The other night following, we came to an anker in another roade.
(b)13..Cursor M. 5672 (Gött.) Wil þu me sla as þu did an, þis oder day [Cott. þis endir dai]? 1664Pepys Diary 11 Feb., Mr. Falconer came..and brought her a present—a silver state-cup and cover. 12 Feb., Changed Mr. Falconer's state-cup, that he did give us the other day, for a fair tankard.
(c)1421Hoccleve Complaint 309 This othar day a lamentacion Of a wofull man in a boke I sye. c1440Jacob's Well 112 The oþer day, J told ȝou a parcell of þe wose in sleuthe. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV iii. iii. 112 The other Night I fell asleepe heere behind the Arras. Ibid. 152 He..sayde this other day, You ought him a thousand pound. 1711Steele Spect. No. 38 ⁋9 A short Letter I writ the other Day to a very witty Man. 1792Gentl. Mag. 17/2 In company with a few friends, the other night. 1824Medwin Convers. Byron (1832) I. 201 The Hartz mountain-scene, that Shelley versified the other day. 1885Manch. Even. News 6 July 2/2 They played a match the other day against a local club.
†c. other half (lit. second half): One and a half (G. anderthalb). See half a. 2. Obs.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxvi[i]. (1890) 360 Se ilca Eadric oðer healf ᵹear þæt rice hæfde. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 939 Oþer half ȝer we abbeþ now iwend..In þe grete se of occean. a1300Cursor M. 16600 Half feirth of eln was þe length, And oþer half þe brede. c1330Florice & Bl. (1857) 216 Other half hondred of riche King. c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 687 A strike, or other half a stryke Of barly mele. c1430Two Cookery-bks. 25 Take oþer half pound of Flower of Rys, .iij. pound of Almaundys, half an vnce of hony.
4. With plural n. (in OE. and early ME. óþre) = the remaining, the rest of the; L. cæteri.
c893K. ælfred Oros. Contents v. iii, Hu Craccus se consul wonn wið þa oðre consulas. c1050Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 304 Þis ylce understand be þam oðrum daᵹum. 1154O.E. Chron. an. 1132 And te oþre rice men þe þer wæron. 1388Wyclif John xxi. 8 Symount Petre..girte hym with a coote..and wente in to the see. But the othere disciplis camen bi boot. 1526Tindale Gal. ii. 13 And the wother Iewes dissembled lyke wyse. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 400 When his glutton eye so full hath fed, His other agents aim at like delight. 1667Milton P.L. i. 194 Satan..With Head up-lift above the wave,..his other Parts besides Prone on the Flood. 1861Ellicott Life Our Lord viii. (1865) 375 The other two have taught us by their very silence, in the first place, to view that last event of the Gospel-history in its true light. 1869J. Eadie Galatians 146 He received his commission..from the same source as did the other Apostles.
5. Existing besides, or distinct from, that already mentioned or implied; not this, not the same, different in identity; further, additional.
†a. with singular n. = another; L. alius, alter.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. Pref. ii. (1890) 4 Oððe on þysse bec oððe on oðre. Ibid. 6 Ᵹif he hwæt ymbe ðis on oðre wisan ᵹemete. 971Blickl. Hom. 219 Eft ᵹelamp oþer wundor. c1175Lamb. Hom. 3 Mid his apostles and ec mid oðere floc manna. Ibid. 9 A hu scolde oðermonnes goddede comen him to gode? Ibid. 13 Ne wilne þu oðres monnes wif ne nanes þinges þe oðre mon aȝe. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 89 Alse he doð on oðre stede on his speche.
b. with sing. n. qualified by an, any, some, no, or preceded by a negative expressed or implied.
an other has been normally written since c 1600 (often also in earlier times) as one word, another (q.v.). In ME. also divided a nother: so na nother = none other, no other.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §1 Nan oþer man. 971Blickl. Hom. 113 Sum..þæt hine swyþor lufode þonne æniᵹ oþor man. c1000ælfric Hom. I. 364 Helias..oððe sum oðer witeᵹa. c1200Vices & Virtues 47 And ec sum oðer saule hit wile helpen. c1250Owl & Night. 583 An oþer þing of þe ich mene. a1300Cursor M. 10663 Oþair husband mai i haf nan. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 618 Athyre enchesone fand I nocht. c1386Chaucer Prol. 461 Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyue Withouten oother compaignye in youthe. c1400Rom. Rose 6033 Ladyes..Ne sekith never othir vicaire. 1560Whitehorne Arte Warre (1573) 48 Other thing there is not that can withholde it. 1611Bible 1 Cor. xv. 37 It may chance of wheat, or of some other graine. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 88 As if they had no other place in the World to live in. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 56 One single [movement] can its end produce; Yet serves to second too some other use. 1795Gentl. Mag. 545/1 To prefer to every other spot the places of our birth and education. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 1 Such history,..more than any other branch of literature, varies with the age that produces it. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. xii. 668 A boldness unknown in any other part of Europe.
c. with pl. n., or quantitative sing. (In OE. and early ME. óþ(e)re.)
c888K. ælfred Boeth. vi, Be þære sunnan & eac be oðrum tunglum. 971Blickl. Hom. 145 Petrus and..oþre Cristes þeᵹnas. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xii. 45 He him to ᵹenymþ seofun oðre gastas. c1175Lamb. Hom. 125 He tahte heom þis swulche toforan oðran þingan. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 16/510 And with oþur melodies al-so. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 101 Masons, Minours And mony oþer craftes. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 7 Among oþere..faire florischers and hiȝteres of wordes. 1457Nottingham Rec. II. 365 For mendyng of a bowt and oder labors. 1483Vulgaria abs Terentio 29, I left all odyr thynges or put a bakk. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 16 b, Gonnes, Bowes, Arrowes, and all other artilery. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. W.-C. Min.-bk. (1855) 63 Naither by thair example nor by thair dilligence in uther things. 1711Steele Spect. No. 49 ⁋6 When they are in other Company they speak and act after him. 1725Ramsay Gent. Sheph. iv. ii, To London court, or ither far aff parts. 1832Tennyson Lady of Shalott ii. i, Little other care hath she. 1850Gladstone Glean. II. 74 We have other evidence..how deeply he had drunk..at classic fountains. 1886Sir N. Lindley in Law Rep. 32 Chanc. Div. 28 The same observations are true of all other contracts similarly circumstanced.
d. Archaic and obsolete constructions.
† other all, other many (obs.): = all other, many other. † other mo, other more (obs.): = other(s) besides. other such (arch.): now generally such other(s). other six, etc. (arch. or dial.), ambiguous: = the (or an) other six, or six other(s), etc. other the king's enemies (arch.), ambiguous: = others, (who are) the king's enemies, or other enemies of the king.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. iv. §1 Hi æfter ðæm wæron on þan mæstan hungre oðre syfan ᵹear. Ibid. iv. x. §2 Eft wearþ oþer swelc ren. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xiii. [xxiii.] (1890) 54 He sende Augustinum and oðre moniᵹe munecas. c1020Rule St. Benet (Logeman) 40 Oðre sijx sealmas. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 408 Bi þe be warned oþer mo. Ibid. 1149 Þou art me leuest of oþer alle. c1489Caxton Blanch. 121 The kynge of Fryse, & other his prysoners. 1512Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 20 Preamble, Archbold with other xl out⁓lawes. 1526Tindale Matt. xv. 30 Havinge with them halt, blinde, domne, maymed, and other many. 1542Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 27 Amonges other their peculier actes. a1555Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 416 Luther and other more of us. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 110 A great deale of the Ciuill lawe, and other many notable bookes. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 246 In their roomes placed other his owne creatures. 1611Bible Gen. viii. 10 He stayed yet other seven days. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 531 To joyn with Cardinal Pool and other the Kings Enemies. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 564 A retreat for St Bridget and other nine virgins. 1864Burton Scot Abr. I. i. 18 With other the great men of Scotland. 1871Ruskin Fors Clav. x. 13 There are, indeed, other such in the world.
e. In this sense, other may be construed with than († formerly also but). Cf. 6.
1679Pepys Let to Dk. York 6 May, Without any alteration..other than what is consequential to [etc.]. 1794Paley Evid. (1825) II. 143 It does not appear that any books, other than our present Scriptures were thus publicly read. 1866Rogers Agric. & Prices II. 273 Gratuities other than money are inconsiderable. 1896Law Times C. 410/1 The acts or defaults of any person other than himself and those claiming under him.
f. other ranks: in the armed forces, non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers, seamen, etc. Occas. in sing., a member of the other ranks. Also transf. and (in form other-rank) attrib. Cf. rank n.1 5 b.
1925Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 216 Other ranks, the usual official designation for N.C.O.'s and privates in orders, etc., as distinguished from Commissioned Officers. 1926F. M. Ford Man could stand Up ii. ii. 106 There were all these inscrutable beings; the Other Ranks, a brownish mass, spreading underground, like clay strata in the gravel. 1929T. E. Lawrence Let. 18 Apr. (1938) 652 M. B. is an amateur of the R.A.F., like me: but he doesn't know the other ranks in it, and won't like their dirt and brutality. 1931― Let. 20 Aug. (1938) 733 A book written by an ‘other rank’ would not mention the officers. 1946R.A.F. Jrnl. May 150 The Sussex Square Club and Hostel..has been opened for male other ranks. 1959Encounter July 85/1 Before the war the young officer really believed that the social circumstances of his upbringing and birth entitled him to give orders to ‘other ranks’; and the ‘other ranks’ were on the whole quite satisfied. 1960J. MacLaren-Ross Until Day she Dies vi. 94 There was a mob of other ranks sitting around on their kitbags. 1960A. Waugh Foxglove Saga vi. 107 The other ranks of the Pigs were mostly recruited from the criminal and the stupid. 1965G. McInnes Road to Gundagai ii. 26 The promenade deck was abruptly curtailed by a wooden grille..with the sign ‘Other Ranks Only. No Entry. Military Police.’ 1966Times 9 July 9/6 The Army have given the expression ‘other ranks’ its marching orders. Commands have been told the term ‘soldier’ is preferred. 1968R. West Sk. Vietnam ii. 46 Many marine other-ranks have college degrees. 1971S. Hill Strange Meeting iii. 169, B Company has lost 2 officers and 3 wounded, and about 30 of other ranks. 1973Listener 5 July 22/1 They, like their other-rank colleagues, knew well enough what it was all about. 1974K. Royce Trap Spider i. 8 ‘Good man,’ he said, as if he'd invited an ‘other rank’ to the officers' mess for a special treat. 1976Daily Tel. 20 July 4/3 The withdrawal of British regular units from Oman will not affect..the secondment of British officers and other ranks of all three services to the Sultan's forces.
6. Different (in kind or quality). Const. than (from, † but). (See also another 4.)[OE. expressed ‘different’ by óþer..óþer: e.g.c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. ii. 28 Ðonne hi on oðre wisan libbað on oðre hi lærað = When they live in one way in another (way) they teach.] a1250Owl & Night. 544 ‘Nay, nay’, sede þe nihtegale, ‘Þu schalt ihere æn oþer tale’. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 392 Bot quha in battaill mycht him se, All othir contenance had he. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 67 Ouþer vnderstondynge bihoueþ of þe ryueres of Paradys, þan auctours writeþ. 1570Buchanan Ane Admonit. Wks. (1892) 26 Yai meane na vyer theng bot ye deid of ye King. 1579J. Field tr. Calvin's Serm. Ded., What should good men looke for other of these blind Balamites, but such condemnation? 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iv. 199, I am for other, then for dancing meazures. 1635N. R. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. ii. an. 12. 108 In case any thing other than well should befall the Infant King. 1643Trapp Comm. Gen. xxxiii. 4 Latomus of Lorain wrote, that there was no other a faith in Abraham, then in Cicero. 1673P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 261 A person quite of other principles from her former husband. 1779Burke Lett., to R. Shackleton Corr. 1844 II. 275, I do not know how I could wish him to be,..other than what he is. 1803Coleridge in Kegan Paul W. Godwin (1876) II. 95 It could not be other than pleasant to me. 1808Scott Marm. ii. vi, Far other scene her thoughts recall. 1877M. Arnold Last Ess. 171 Quite other matters from the fundamental matter of the primitive gospel. 1879F. Harrison Choice Bks. (1886) 51 This Italian poetry is in a world far other from ours of to-day.
†7. Other was formerly used to characterize things as of a different kind from those previously mentioned: e.g. other sinful men = other men, who are sinful. Obs.
This would now be implied by its omission; in modern use the insertion of other implies the opposite, viz. that the second class includes the first.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 201 Þerfore, as ihu crist is more worþi than oþere synful men [etc.]. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. x. 199 Both preestis and othere lay men. 1481Caxton Godfrey x. 33 Charyottes, horses, camels, beuffes, kyen, & other smale beestys. 1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. ii. v, The lyfe of man is more laborous..than the lyfe of any other brute beste. 1600Holland Livy xxxvii. xxiii. 957 There were 32 quadrireme Gallies and 4 other triremes besides. 1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 90 All these [vices] are portable, With other Graces weigh'd. 1699Bentley Phal. 506 It was immortal Vellum..that could last..in spite of all damp and moisture, that moulders other mortal skins.
B. absol., pron., or n.
1. absol.
†1.
a. One of the two, the one; L. alter. Often followed by a genitive pl. (Cf. A. 1.) Obs.
c893K. ælfred Oros. iii. xi. §4 Þær wearð Leostenas, oðer heora ladteowa, mid anre flan ofscoten. Ibid. iv. x. §5 Þara consula oþres sunu, Scipia wæs haten. Ibid. vi. iii. §3 Þa funde mon..twa cista..and on oþerre wæs an ᵹewrit. Ibid. vi. xxx. §3 Þa ᵹesette Galerius ii cyningas under him; oþer wæs haten Seuerus. a900tr. Bæda's Hist. v. xiv. [xiii.] (1890) 438 Ða teah heora oðer forð fæᵹre boc. 971Blickl. Hom. 169 Se þe hæbbe twa tunecan, selle oðre ðam ðe nane næbbe. c1000Leg. Holy Rood 101 ᵹif æniᵹ man wolde heora oðrum fylstan, ðæt man hine sona ᵹefenge. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 95 Two þeroffe ben swiche þat no man ne mai underfo him seluen to hele bute he haue here oðer on him. 13..Cursor M. 21949 Ooþer [v.rr. auþer, ouþer, oon] o þam we most forga, For mai na man haf heuens twa.
b. In OE. oðer was used anticipatively to introduce the two members of an alternative; thus, oðer (þara or tweᵹra), oððe..oððe.., i.e. the one, (of these, or of the two) either..or... (Cf. outher a. and pron. 1 b for similar use of OE. áwðer, áðer.)
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xi. §1 For þam oþer tweᵹa, oððe hie næfre..becumað, oððe hi..næfre..ðurhwuniað. c893― Oros. i. x. §1 Him sædon þæt hie oðer dyden, oðþe ham comen oððe hie him woldon oðerra wera ceosan. c1000Eccl. Inst. in Thorpe Laws II. 412 Wite he þæt oðer ðara, oððe he sceal ðæs hades þolian, oððe hit ᵹebetan.
c. other..other = the one..the other. Obs.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xvii. 107 Ðæt..se oðer beo aræred from ðæm oðrum. 971Blickl. Hom. 171 Oþer..is se æresta apostol, oþer se nehsta. c1000ælfric Gen. xl. 2 Ðara oðer bewiste his byrlas, oðer his bæcestran [L. alter..alter]. c1305Life St. Edmund the King 9 in E.E.P. (1862) 87 Hubba was þoþer ihote: & þoþer het Hyngar.
2. a. the other: The remaining one of two; later, also of three or more. (Cf. A. 2.)
In this sense esp. contrasted with (the) one: see one 18.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §1 Sume men sæᵹden þæt þær nære buton tweᵹen dælas: Asia, & þæt oþer Europe. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. Pref. i. (1890) 2 ᵹif se oðer nolde, hu wurð he elles ᵹelæred? c1000ælfric Gen. xxix. 27 Hafa þas ane wucan to ᵹemæccan, and ic ᵹife þe þa oðre. a1225Ancr. R. 404 Al so as on neil driueð ut þen oðerne. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7017 Þat þe on broþer..in nede helpeþ þere þat oþer. a1425Cursor M. 1578 (Trin.) Þe broþer toke þe oþeres wif. c1450Boke of Curtasye 814 in Babees Bk., Þe vssher ledes þat on hed ryȝt, Þo aumener þo oþer away shalle dyȝt. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII 15 When bothe the armyes were approchyng to the other. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 143 One Monarch wears an honest open Face,..That other looks like Nature in Disgrace. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 506 The inward flow Of faith..Each from the other hears. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 36 This will excuse the performance of that, and also of the other.
†b. Instead of ‘the other’ the simple other was formerly used after each, either, neither, whether (rarely after one, none). Obs.
Hence the extant each other, and the obs. either other, as in they help each other, i.e. each [helps] the other: see each 5, either A. 2 d. For ‘each other’ Sc. also used each others, i.e. each the others, one another (of a number).
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §23, & swa ælc æfter oðrum. Ibid. ii. iii. §2 Heora þær æᵹðer oðerne ofsloᵹ. Ibid. iii. i. §4 Þæt naðer ne mehte on oþrum siᵹe ᵹeræcan. a1123O.E. Chron. an. 1101 Loc, hweðer þæra ᵹebroðra oðerne ofer bide. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3332 And hor eiþer in oþer armes mid grete ioye hom nom. a1330Otuel 456 And either hugh on other faste. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 1079 Þane can athir wthire kis. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 274 To me þat am thy cosyn and thy brother Ysworn ful depe and ech of vs til oother. c1400Three Kings Cologne 57 Noon of hem neuer tofore had seye oþer, ne noon of hem knewe oþirs persone ne knewe of oþirs comyng. a1450Le Morte Arth. 2013 Er outher of vs haue other slayne. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7107 Þai myght unnethis an [= one] othir se. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. lxi. 83 They wer so nere togyder, that ech of them vnderstode others langage. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 4023 Atheris deand in vtheris armis. a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V Wks. (1711) 97 They mutually entertained and feasted each others at Christmas. 1657Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer 68 Priest and people interchangeably pray each for other.
†c. The simple other was formerly used in the sense ‘each preceding one (in turn)’. thrice after other, thrice in succession. Obs. or dial. (Sc.)
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5032 Ac þo vel he in siknesse and sorwe vpen oþer. 1558Kennedy Compend. Tract. in Wodrow Misc. (1844) 170 Our Salveour thryse efter uther commendit his floke to St. Peter. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. iv. 2 Euery Letter he hath writ, hath disuouch'd other. 1660Sharrock Vegetables 17 The nature of young tulip roots is to runne down deeper into the ground, every year more then other. a1694Tillotson Serm. cx. (1742) VI. 1793 Controversy, which I am less fond of every day than other.
†3. That which follows the first, the second. (Cf. A. 3.) Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiii. §5 An þæra is eorðe, oðer wæter, ðridde lyft, feorþe fyr. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xviii. [xxxiv.] (1890) 92 Her endað seo æreste boc and onginneð seo oðer. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 26 Se forma..se oðer ealswa and se þrydda, oþ ðone seofoþan. c1175Lamb. Hom. 37 Alra erest þu scalt gan to scrifte..þe oðer is do þine almesse..þat þridde is þet þu scalt bi-wepen þine sunne. Ibid. 133 An is monnes istreon, þet oðer is godes word. 1340Ayenb. 17 Þe uerste boȝ of prede is ontreuþe, þe oþer onworþhede, þe þridde ouerweninge.
4. pl. The remaining ones, the rest; L. cæteri.
† (α) In form other, OE., ME. oþ(e)re. Obs.
971Blickl. Hom. 223 Wæs heora sum reðra..ðonne þa oþre. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 49 Ða oðre cwædon. a1225Leg. Kath. 1374 Þa ȝeide þus þat an, & elnede þe oðre. 1340Ayenb. 237 Hi clenzeþ and halȝeþ þe oþre. c1477Caxton Jason 8 b, The other deffended them with alle their puissaunce. 1526Tindale Rev. xx. 5 The wother off the deed men lyved not agayne. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iv. ii. 71 Awaking when the other doe. 1658Whole Duty Man i. §9 The best groundwork whereon to build both the other. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. ii. §17 That Space wherein the other were, is made empty. 1768G. White Selborne xix. 55 That it is a size larger than the two other.
(β) In form others. (The regular mod. form.)
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 67 b, When the others..addressed theim selfes to returne. 1611Bible Ezek. ix. 5 To the others he said in mine hearing. ― Dan. vii. 19 The fourth beast..was diuerse from al the others. [Elsewhere the other.] 1719De Foe Crusoe i. xviii, The cave where the others lay. 1860Ellicott Life Our Lord viii. (1865) 374 The two others direct our thoughts more to Judea.
5. Absolute use of A. 5, the n. being expressed in the context:
a. sing. One besides. (a) Without qualifying word; now only in some..or other, one..or other. (b) With an, one, any, no (none), some.
an other is now written another, q.v.: cf. A. 5 b.
c1325Poem Times Edw. II (Percy) lxxv, That dured ȝer & other. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccx. 193 The barons sent to hym o time and other. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 493 To one idols tuition and protection or other. 1625Milton Death Fair Inf. 55 Or any other of that heav'nly brood. 1635J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 203 My Mother..was by some one or other counselled to send [etc.]. 1712Addison Spect. No. 446 ⁋4 Some time or other we may be at leisure. 1801Jane Austen Lett. (1884) I. 263 Hardly a day passes in which we do not have some visitor or other. 1877Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 55 God will bring His people out of the trouble some way or other. Mod. This wool is too dark; have you any other? Use ―'s Soap once, and you will use no other.
b. pl. Other things or persons of the kind mentioned.
(α) In form other (ME. orig. oþ(e)re). Now arch.; chiefly in other of.
a1100Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 259 On maneᵹum landum tilð bið redre ðonne on oðrum. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 29 Yles þer beþ mani on..Ac þer beþ at uore alle oþere þre. a1300Cursor M. 9293 Sum Iuus said til oþer þan Qua herd euer sli spece o man. 1484Caxton Curiall 1 Whiche repute thonoures..to be thynges more blessyd & happy than other. 1637Sc. Prayer Bk. 10 That they..should be abused as other have been. 1713Berkeley Guard. No. 3 ⁋1 A body of men whom of all other a good man would be most careful not to violate.
1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc i. 154 Other of his friends and rare men. 1691tr. Emilianne's Observ. Journ. Naples 228 Elias and other of the Prophets. 1798C. Smith Yng. Philos. II. 155 Some other of the servants and dependants. 1826R. H. Froude Rem. (1838) I. 152 These writings, and all other of the same class. 1844J. H. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 432, I know two other of his works. 1880F. G. Lee Ch. under Eliz. I. 244 Like other of the Protestant prelates.
(β) In form others. (The regular mod. form.)
1557North Gueuara's Diall Pr. 141 That thy thoughtes were others than they seemed. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1307 Of tame beasts..the most grosse and indocible of all others, namely an asse. 1609― Amm. Marcell. 337 These matters abovesaid, and others the like. 1651Gataker P. Martyr in Fuller's Abel Rediv. (1867) I. 244 He preached at Rome, Venice..and in others the cities of Italy. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1842) I. 41 Loans from the citizens of London and others of her subjects. 1868Milman St. Paul's 344 In others of his sermons. 1877Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. ii. 340–1 In Birmingham, the very place, of all others, where it is most likely to be of real service.
** pron.
6. a. sing. = Another person; some one else; any one else. † (a) without qualifying word (now expressed by another). Obs. (b) Qualified by any, some, no (none), one, an.
(a)a900Laws of ælfred Introd. c. 19 ᵹif hwa oðrum his eaᵹe oðdo. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxvii[i]. (1890) 362 Þonne mæssepreost oðþe oðer in tun com. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 3 Eart þu þe to cumenne eart, oððe we oþres sceolon abidan? c1175Lamb. Hom. 19 Þet he ne misdude wið oðerne. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 43 Oðer hadde þe gult and ure hlouerd ihesu crist hit acorede. a1300Cursor M. 1974 Ifel agh naman do til oþer For ilkan agh be oþier broiþer. Ibid. 21927 Thoru warnissing of oþers wrake. c1440Jacob's Well 180 It was oþerys defaute, & noȝt myn. 1596Danett tr. Comines (1614) 342 Other than him they haue none ouer them. 1611Bible 1 Cor. xi. 21 Euery one taketh before other, his owne supper.
(b)c1375Cursor M. 14306 (Fairf.) He wepped sorer þan any oþer. c1450Merlin i. 19 Shall eny other do her duresse? 1611Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems i. 76 Ȝit woldst thou teach ane oyer. 1657W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc i. 191 The work should be dedicated to the King, or to some other, who would thankfully accept it. 1811Ora & Juliet III. 208 It is plain..she likes some other. 1828Pusey Hist. Enquiry i. 126 note, Morgan put together with greater minuteness than any other the historical critical difficulties. 1881W. H. Mallock Rom. 19th Cent. II. 205 It was none other than [etc.].
b. pl. Other persons.
(α) In form other (OE. oðre). arch.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xv. [xxvi.] (1890) 62 Se cyning eac swylce betuh oþre ongon lustfullian. 971Blickl. Hom. 143 Mid hire syndan Godes apostolas and oþre. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3633 Oðere of ðat kin, Sette he hem for to seruen ðor-in. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 222, & silui ascaynes sone & oþere þat þer were. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints v. (Johannes) 12 God gaf hym wittinge Atoure athire of prewe thinge. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 19 Ȝif þei..maken oþere more sikyrly to hopen þus. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. vi. (1885) 122 Lordes, knyghtes, & sqviers, & oþer. 1526Tindale John vii. 12 Wother sayde naye, but he deceaveth the people. Ibid. 41 Wother sayde: This is Christ. 1581Lambarde Eiren. ii. ii. (1588) 102 Other there were of a contrary opinion. 1607R. Wilkinson Merchant Royall Ep. Ded., I have pleased some and displeased other. a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 22 The Heathen..(a name comprising all other but themselves). 1870Freeman in W. R. W. Stephens Life (1895) II. 38 You and such other as I may catch.
(β) In form others. (poss. pl. others', formerly others.) (The regular mod. form.)
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 29 With oþeris alse in þe se Rouande. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 339 To oþirs is ȝovun..discrecioun to knowe spiritis. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 602 Mony nobillis of the Pechtis..and sindrie otheris mo. 1557N. T. (Genev.) Luke xx. 16 He..wil let out his vineyard to others [previous vv. other, Rheims and 1611 others]. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xiv. 14 In lykwayis dois hir beuty..Transcend all vþiris. 1595Shakes. John iv. ii. 164, I met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisburie..And others more. a1599Spenser F.Q. vii. vii. 53 Where were ye borne? Some say in Crete by name, Others in Thebes, and others other-where. 1611Bible Matt. xxvii. 42 He saued others [prev. vv. other]; himselfe he cannot saue. 1711Steele Spect. No. 118 ⁋1 This Woman, says he, is of all others the most unintelligible. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §9 Others indeed may talk. 1753Inscription carved on No. 23 High Street, Hawick, All was Others. All will be Others. 1789Burns Let. to Blacklock vii, Not but I hae a richer share Than mony ithers. 1894H. Drummond Ascent Man 38 Without the Struggle for the life of Others, obviously there would have been no Others.
7. = Another thing; something else, anything else; no(n) other, nothing else. Obs. or arch.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §3 Nat ic nauht oþres. c900tr. Bæda's Eccl. Hist. iii. viii. [xi.] (1890) 184 And betweoh oðer spræcon heo be Oswalde. c1000in Cockayne Narrat. Angl. Conscr. (1861) 7 Seo wyrd oft oncyrreþ and on oðer hworfeþ. a1300Sarmun viii. in E.E.P. (1862) 2 Whar-of is þe gentil man of eni oþer þan of þis. a1300Cursor M. 4147 (Cott.) Quen ruben sagh þair was nanoþer Bot [etc.]. 1370Robt. Cicyle 55 When hyt wolde non odur be. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour C viij b, All be he of his parente his affynyte or other. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iii. (1577) Q iv b, [He] Neuer thinketh vpon other but to please hir. 1685R. Burton Eng. Emp. Amer. iv. 83 The Indians..thinking no other but I had saved the Indian's life. 1690Locke Govt. i. iv. §40 'Tis impossible..to find any other but the setting of Mankind above the other Kinds of Creatures. 1755Man No. 49. 2 This is no other than insulting a person. 1846Trench Mirac. xxxii. (1862) 449 Peter was not likely to strike with other than a right good will. 1895Westm. Gaz. 25 July 4/2 He thought he could not do other than send the two prisoners for trial.
8. In reciprocal sense: = Each other, one another. In later use only Sc.
Scotch writers also formerly used the plural others.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 340 Alle dedes and werkes of þe Trinite mai not be departid from oþir. 1582–8Hist. Jas. VI (1804) 294 How they might shift thir three from utheriss seuerally. 1620Frier Rush (1828) 30, I would have caused you to slaye other. 1632W. Lithgow Trav. iii. 85 Figges, Orenges, Lemmons,..growing all through other. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 209 Oh if we were clasped in others arms! 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min.-bk. (1855) 35 He..saw thame striking at uthers with thair swordes. 1653Binning Serm. (1845) 456 You may see here sin and judgement mixed in thorough other in their complaint. 1725Ramsay Gent. Sheph. iii. iii, Let's steal frae ither now and meet the morn. 1786Burns Twa Dogs 37 Nae doubt but they were fain o' ither. 1809Campbell Gertrude ii. vi, We know not other—oceans are between.
9. as n. Philos. That which (in relation to something already mentioned) constitutes the other part of the universe of being, and is thus the counterpart or double of the former; e.g. the non-ego is the ‘other’ of the ego, Creation of the Creator, etc.
1863E. V. Neale Anal. Th. & Nat. 205 It is the essential character of thought to set itself over against itself, as the ‘other’ of itself, which yet is itself. All our thoughts..are a something set over against our thinking being by its own action; different from itself and yet one with itself. 1876Fairbairn Strauss ii. in Contemp. Rev. June 136 He has eternally to cause the other of himself, Nature, to proceed from himself.
10. as n. Sexual activity; sexual intercourse. Also occas., homosexual practices. slang.
1922Joyce Ulysses 358 They would be just good friends like a big brother and sister without all that other. Ibid. 429 Bit light in the head. Monthly or effect of the other. 1928D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley xiv. 241 She loved me to talk to her and kiss her... But the other, she just didn't want. 1936J. Curtis Gilt Kid 135 ‘Doing half I was.’ ‘What for? The other?’ ‘Yes.’ The pansy simpered. Ibid., He gets a stretch for screwing and another stretch on top of that for the other. 1969F. Norman Banana Boy 127, I..usually managed to get Mary behind a haystack for a ‘bit of the other’. 1974Spectator 22 June 764/2 I've got to be noticed by any guy who's on the prowl away from home and looking for a bit of the other.
C. Peculiar written combinations and divisions of an other, none other, the other, in A. and B.
a. In ME. writing, an other, now another, was often divided as a nother. Similarly, non (nan) other, now no (none) other was written no (na) nother. In ME. and early mod.Eng. the other was often written thother. These forms are now obs.
a1300Cursor M. 1942 Suilk a noiþer wengance. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 31 Or fynd a noþer man. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 19 Ȝif þat o part holdiþ wiþ o pope and þe toþer wiþ o noþere pope. 1426Audelay Poems 14 Hit nedus no noder to do. 1428Surtees Misc. (1888) 10 Ne na nother suyte make. 1526Tindale Col. iii. 13 If eny man have a quarrell to a nother. 1534Joye Subvers. More's False Found. 7 No nother then this foundacion. 1557Brasenose Coll. Munim. 22. 10 In a nother chamber.
a1200Moral Ode 166 Ach þoþre habbeþ scome and grome. 1414–15Plumpton Corr. p. cxx, Sir Robert Plompton,..knight,..on thother partie. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 508 b, Thone of the body, thother of the soule. 1616A. Champney Voc. Bps. 281 Both thone and thother.
b. In Early ME., þet oþer:—OE. þæt óþer, neuter of se óþer, the other, was (app. first in northern, north midl. and east midl. dialects) extended to all genders, and at length analysed as þe toþer, the tother. See tother. Cf. also to adj., tone pron.
By some writers the tone, the tother, were altered by way of correction to that one, that other.
D. Comb.
1. Parasynthetic (from the adj.): as other-coloured (of a different colour), other-dimensional (of or from another dimension), other-fashioned (of another fashion), other-featured, other-languaged, other-minded (hence other-mindedness), other-mouthed, † other-prized (of a different price or amount), other-sided (opp. to one-sided; hence other-sidedness).
1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. Defin., An other fashioned line..named a twine or twist line. 1593–4Sylvester Profit Imprisonm. 24 And whoso list, be mute, if otherminded. 1615Chapman Odyss. i. 282 Of purpose to maintain Course through the dark seas t'other-languag'd men. 1656H. Phillips Purch. Patt. (1676) 38 The true value of any other prized yearly income. 1704N. N. tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. I. 199 If she had a Gallant with other colour'd Hair. 1705J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXV. 1959 This rare Shell,..being the only one amongst near half a score of the other-Mouth'd. 1887Pall Mall G. 23 June 1/1 The one-sided prosperity and the other-sided misery. 1895Athenæum 13 July 61/3 A one-sidedness must perhaps be complemented by an equal and opposite other-sidedness. 1926Public Opinion 30 Apr. 436/3 The habit of..other-mindedness. 1940J. Betjeman Old Lights for New Chancels 50 Coffee and Ulysses, Tennyson, Joyce, Alpha⁓minded and other dimensional, Freud or Calvary? Take your choice. 1961John o'London's 25 May 592/2 His humour is so naturally other-dimensional.
2. Objective (from the pron.) as other-centred (centred in others); other-directed Sociol. (applied to persons whose behaviour and goals are directed by standards they feel acceptable to others, esp. some kind of peer group; cf. inner-directed (inner a. (n.2) 1 n), tradition-directed; hence as n.; also other-directedness, other-direction); † other-peering (peering or looking at the other); other-regard (regard for others); other-regarding (regarding others, altruistic; opp. to self-regarding); other-regardingness.
1925Inner Life (Ser. 2) 219 Love of the large room is characteristic of souls that are other-centred. 1950D. Riesman et al. Lonely Crowd i. 9 The society of incipient population decline develops in its typical members a social character whose conformity is insured by their tendency to be sensitized to the expectations and preferences of others. These I shall term other-directed people. Ibid. 20 It is also my impression that the conditions I believe responsible for other-direction are affecting increasing numbers of people in the metropolitan centers of the advanced industrial countries. Ibid. 23 What is common to all other-directeds is that their contemporaries are the source of direction for the individual. 1953Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. XLIV. 187 From having been in the nineteenth century inner-directed..most Americans have now become ‘other-directed’, taking standards and guidance mainly from their contemporaries at each stage in their lives. 1957V. Packard Hidden Persuaders xvi. 168 The increasing desire of Americans to make a good impression on their peer group, as a part of the trend to other-directedness. 1959, etc. [see inner a. (n.2) 1 n]. 1966D. Jenkins Educated Society i. 27 Dangers..of excessive ‘other-directedness’ and the production of ‘organization men’. 1973Listener 17 May 635/1 [J. S.] Mill's fears were those of post-war American sociologists like David Riesman, who saw American society as full of ‘other-directed’ men. 1975R. H. Rimmer Premar Experiments (1976) i. 48 The deep joy and satisfaction he discovers in other-directedness and his love for people-involvement.
1615G. Sandys Trav. (1637) 26 By reason of the other-peering mountaines.
1938Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Oct. 635/2 When we come..to the consideration of the two major types of Sentiment, Self-regard and Other-regard (or Love), we are on firmer ground.
1879H. Spencer Data of Ethics iii. §8. 23 The promptings of the other-regarding desires. 1923J. S. Huxley Ess. Biologist vii. 273 The instincts that are self-regarding and those that are other-regarding. 1947Mind LVI. 277 If the common good is our principle, we should expect a preference to be given to other-regarding ends over self-regarding ones. 1952V. Gollancz My Dear Timothy xx. 274 At the bottom of it..was an element of something other-regarding. A sense of public service should have taken its place. 1969Listener 6 Feb. 164/1 And protest in our society seems to be of these two kinds also—self-regarding and other-regarding—in rather comparable proportions.
1894United Presb. Mag. XI. 310 That all morality is summed up in altruism—other-regardingness or love. 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 31 Jan. 54/5 Reason, objectivity, tolerance, charity, other-regardingness—these are not natural gifts of men.
▸ other body n. U.S. Polit. (with the) the U.S. Senate as referred to in the House of Representatives (historically, explicit mention of Senate proceedings was proscribed by House rules); (also occas.) the House of Representatives as referred to in the U.S. Senate; cf. other place n. 3.
1809Ann. Congr. U.S. (1853) XIX. 1423 The House should be careful not to infringe on the rights of the *other body. 1835Reg. Deb. Congr. U.S. 3 Mar. 1657 ‘I said no such thing [i.e. the word ‘Senate’]. I said the other body.’.. The Chair decided that the gentleman was not in order in alluding to the proceedings of the ‘other body’. 1929N.Y. Times 11 June 24/4 Mr. Garner, Democratic floor leader, asked whether Mr. Denison did not think he was ‘intensifying the situation’ by referring to something that had happened in the other body. 2001National Jrnl. (U.S.) 28 July 2395/2 They want that bill to be similar enough to the bill passed in the other body so that we can avoid a conference committee.
▪ II. other, v. orig. Philos.
Brit. |ˈʌðə|, U.S. |ˈəðər|
Forms: also with capital initial.
[‹ other pron. and n. Compare earlier othering n.]
trans. (refl. in early use). To become conscious of by viewing as a distinct entity; (in later use) spec. to conceptualize (a people, a group, etc.) as excluded and intrinsically different from oneself. Cf. other pron. and n. 9.
1936G. E. Mueller Philos. of our Uncertainty 89 Thought posits and realizes itself by othering itself and taking the expression of this seeming other as its own. 1963A. W. Watts Two Hands of God Introd. 25 In mystical traditions, God ‘others’ himself in creating the world, in creating the appearance of innumerable creatures acting on their own. 1980Boundary 8 301 Absorption of what we have already ‘othered’ can never return us to a state of paradisal identity; it can only identify us demonically with the terrifying alienated products of our differentiating consciousness. 1995Grand Royal No. 2. 13/3 People who are ‘Othered’ in whatever way, made to feel marginal or suppressed or oppressed or whatever. 2003Jrnl. Women's Hist. 15 159 Kurds similarly have been ‘othered’ by Turkish discourse as ‘backward’ and ‘traditional’, in opposition to the modern secular image of the Turk, and this image has been exported to the West.
Derivatives. othered adj.
1980P. Weiss You, I & Others 336 An *othered complex of individuals is quite different from othered individuals. 2003Michigan Q. Rev. 42 653 The assumed ‘universality’ of straight white men's writing, and the policing and self-policing, the marginalization and self-marginalization, of othered groups' writings are two sides of the same racially and sexually delimited coin.
▪ III. other, adv.1|ˈʌðə(r)|
[Adverbial use of prec., sometimes due to ellipsis.]
= otherwise B. 1.
c1205Lay. 27898 Al oðer hit itidde. 1628Gaule Pract. The. (1629) 412 Who will care to liue other, then according to this present and euill Life? 1880Schouler Hist. U.S. I. 241 Girt round the waist too carelessly to conceal other than temptingly those charms. 1883Law Times 20 Oct. 407/2 It is impossible to refer to them..other than very cursorily.
▪ IV. † other, conj. and adv.2 Obs.
Forms: 2–5 oþer, 2–6 other, 4–5 oþere, othire, othir, -yr(e, 4–6 uther; 6 oder, -ur. β. 4 oiþer, oither.
[The OE. word for ‘or’ (F. ou, L. aut, and sive or vel, G. oder) was oððe, earlier oðða (also eðða) = Goth. aiþþau, OS. eþþo, oððo, OHG. eddo, edo, later odo, MHG. ode, oder, Ger. oder. The alternative ‘either..or’ was expressed by oððe..oððe. This form was superseded c 1130 by oðer (first in O.E. Chron., anno 1127; last example of oððe, in a sentence in which oðer also occurs, 1131). The MS. of the OE. transl. of Περὶ διδάξεων (1200–1225) has regularly oððer for OE. oððe.
Though the date of the first appearance of this conj. is so narrowly defined, its actual source remains a debated question. It has been held to be identical with the adj. pron. other (see prec.), and (more frequently) with the adj. pron. outher, OE. áhwæðer, áwðer, áðer. Both these pronominal words were indeed in OE. used anticipatively, to introduce the alternative oððe..oððe..(see other adj. pron. B. 1 b, outher adj. pron. 1 b); but there is no trace in OE. of áwðer (áðer) or óðer taking the place of the first member of the alternative oððe..oððe.., much less of both members, and least of all of the simple conj. oððe. On the contrary, the simple conj. remained invariably oððe, and the alternative (so far as the evidence shows) oððe..oððe.., down to the abrupt substitution of oþer c 1130. It is true that in the 14th c., in northern, north-midl., and e.-midl. Eng., awþer, ouþer, began to take the place of oþer as first member of the alternative oþer..oþer.., or oþer..or..(the second remaining as or, less usually oþer), just as later still (in Wyclif and Chaucer) either became the midland form of the first member; but these were changes several centuries later than the substitution of oþer for oððe c 1130, with which they have no historical connexion. It seems more probable that the oðer or oþer of 1130 was a modification of oððe itself, due to some association with words in -er; oððe being a stressless word was probably reduced in pronunciation to oðe (cf. OE. nalæs from nalles, sithen (1140) from siððan, etc.). Thus we are reminded of the parallelism of development between HG. eddo, edo, odo, ode, oder, and OE. eðða, oðða, oððe, (*oðe), oðer or oþer, and are led to suspect, for the r of German oder and of ME. oþer, the same or a similar explanation. The form oððer used by the early 13th c. scribe of Περὶ διδάξεων may either be his accommodation of the oððe of his original to the oðer of his own day, or an actual intermediate form. It does not seem possible to fix the quantity of the o in ME. oþer, even from Ormin's spelling; but, if derived from oððe, *oðe, it was presumably short. Ormin's reduced form oþþr and orr (see or conj.), and the later or, had, of course, short o, from which the |ɔː| of mod. emphatic or is regularly developed.
α. Preliminary illustration of OE. oððe:
735Bæda Death-song, Huaet his gastae godaes aeththa yflaes aefter deoth daeᵹe doemid uueorthae. Riddles xliv. 17 Hu se cuma hatte eðþa se esne. c825Kentish Chart. (O.E.T. 444) Mittan fulne huniᵹes oðða tueᵹen wines. c825Vesp. Ps. viii. 5 Hwet is mon..oððe sunu monnes. a900O.E. Chron. an. 893 Hundtwelftiᵹes mila lang oþþe lengra. 1086–90Ibid. an. 1086 Swa hwa swa sloᵹe heort oððe hinde. 1128–31Ibid. an. 1128 Wær it tweolf monð oððe mare.
1200–25Transcript of OE. treatise Περὶ διδάξεων in Sax. Leechd. III. 100 Gnid on win oððer on wearme wætere. Ibid. 108 Nim þanne eced oððer win..and nim ele..oððer spic, ᵹif man ele nabbe.
β. Illustration of OE. oððe..oððe..:
a900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. i. (1890) 28 Oðþa [v.r. oððe] mid freondscipe oðþa [v.r. oðþe] mid ᵹefeohte. a900Ags. Psalms (Thorpe) xxx. heading, Awðer oþþe on mode, oþþe on lichaman. a900O.E. Chron. an. 894 Þa scipu eall oðþe tobræcon oþþe forbærndon oþþe to Lundenbyriᵹ brohton oþþe to Hrofesceastre. 901Ibid., [He] sæde þæt he wolde oðer, oððe þær libban oððe þær licgan. 1085–90Ibid. an. 1085 Oððe mid rihte oððe elles. 1100–20Ibid. an. 1100 Ealle he hi oððe wið feo ᵹesealde oððe on his aᵹenre hand heold. ]
A. conj. The earlier form of or conj.2
a. As simple conj.
1127–31O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1127 Þær mihte wel ben abuton twenti oðer þritti horn blaweres. Ibid. an. 1131 Swa þæt on þa tun þa wæs tenn ploᵹes oðer twelfe gangende ne be læf þær noht an, & se man þa heafde twa hundred oðþe ðre hundred swin ne be leaf him noht an. 1137–54Ibid. an. 1137 Me henged bi the þumbes, other bi the hefed. Ibid., Twa oþer thre men hadden onoh to bæron onne. Ibid., Gif twa men oþer iii coman ridend to an tun. c1175Lamb. Hom. 17 Ec ȝif þu agultest oðer sunegest. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 157 Alse þe man doð þe ȝifeð his almes fader oðer moder, suster oðer broðer oðer oðre swo sibbe þat he aghte mid rihte to helpen to feden. c1200Ormin 6255, & ȝiff þatt iss þatt aniȝ mann Þe shendeþþ oþerr werdeþþ. Ibid. 14034, & twafald oþerr þrefald mett Þa fétless alle token. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1940 Slo we him noȝt, Oðer sinne may be wroȝt. 1258Eng. Proclam. Hen. III (1868) 19 Þurȝ þan to foren iseide rædesmen, oþer þurȝ þe moare dæl of heom alswo. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 141 By-ȝonde þe broke by slente oþer slade. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. viii. 108 A blynde man for a bordiour oþer a bedreden womman. 1437Rolls of Parlt. IV. 510/2 In the Kynges Benche, othir in any other place. 1474Waterf. Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 311 No childe, that is to say, son othre doghtre. 1525Tindale Prol. N.T., Who ys so blynde.., other so despyghtfull. 1574Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 424 In striffe other variaunces betwixt partye and partye.
β13..Cursor M. 11305 (Cott.) Sco suld..offer turtuls douues tua, Oiþer [Gött. or; a 1425 Trin. ouþer; Laud othir] o douues duble brid.
b. Preceded by other: see B. 1 a.
c. Preceded by whether.
c1350Will. Palerne 3130 Wheþer þow be a god gost..oiþer any foule fend. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5717 Whather he wolde oþer no. 14..Cursor M. 10779 (Laud) Whethir he wold othir [Trin. ouþer] nay. 1526Tindale Luke vi. 9 Whether is it laufull on the sabath dayes..to saue life oder for to destroye hyt? ― 1 Pet. ii. 14 Whether it be vnto the kynge..other vnto ruelars.
B. adv.
1. Placed before two (or more) words, phrases, or clauses connected by other or or, so that other..other.., and (later) other..or.. was equivalent to OE. oððe..oððe.., and to mod. Eng. either..or..: see either B. 3.
a. In the connexion other..other...
c1175Lamb. Hom. 37 Oðer þu most hersumian crist, oðer þam deofle. a1200Moral Ode 131 Oþer raþer oðer later milce he scal imeten. 1200–25(date of MS.) Περὶ διδάξεων in Sax. Leechd. III. 116 Seo untrumnys cymþ of þrim þingum, oþþer of cyle, oþþer of miclum hæte..oþþer of lytte æte and drince, oþþer of miclum wernesse. c1205Lay. 8266 Þat þu him sculle oðer don, Oðer slæn oðer a-hon. a1225Ancr. R. 180 Heo is euer oðer of þing wiðuten, oðer of þing wiðinnen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 402 Oþer he smot of þen arm, oþer hand oþer heued. Ibid. 6246 Oþer hii mote þanne acordi, oþer fiȝte hom sulue tuo. 1340Ayenb. 25 Oþer ine þe wordle oþer ine religion, oþer clerk oþer lewed. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 35 Other because she accumpanieth not with man, other els for sum other infirmite. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. Ep. to King, If they mean other your maiesties seruice, other their own wisdome. 1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 141 Quhen we ar other maintenars..of euill doars, other defends or preaches ony peruers or wickit doctrine.
b. In the connexion other..or...
13..Cursor M. 3855 (Cott.) Þat I suld oþer [Gött. ethir] here his saand, Or lat þe folk vte o mi land. c1394P. Pl. Crede 676 Oþer wiþ word or wiþ werke. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 213 Brynge theym to me other deed or quycke. 1548Cranmer Catech. 100 b, Other they bryng nothyng to passe..or..theyr losse is greater then theyr gaynes. 1562Turner Baths Ded., Other in Italy or Germany. a1584Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 735 Vther few or nane, I trow.
βc1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 2 Oiþer bihoues vs defend it, or ȝelde vp our right. 13..Cursor M. 14859 Oiþer for to dei or liue. c1400Apol. Loll. 29 Þat is foly to aferme in þis case oiþer ȝie or nay.
2. Following an alternative clause with or: = either B. 5. rare.
a1400–50Alexander 3 Sum farand þing..[that befell] Or [= ere] þai were fourmed on fold, or þaire fadirs oþer.
3. = Whether. rare.
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. x. 10 They wist nat in what parte of Inglande they were in: other in the power of theyr frendis, or in the power of theyr ennemies. Ibid. I. 145 He wyst nat what way he wolde drawe, other into Normandy, Brebayne, or Gascoyne. |