Alter
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle High German alter, from Old High German altar, from Proto-Germanic *aldrą. Cognate with German Low German Oller.
Noun edit
Alter n (strong, genitive Alters, plural Alter)
- age, old age
- 1834, Rahel. Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde. Erster Theil, Berlin, page 275:
- Sie sind Eines Alters [...]
- They are of the same age [...]
- antiquity
- epoch, age
Declension edit
Declension of Alter [neuter, strong]
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Luxembourgish: Alter
See also edit
Etymology 2 edit
Nominalization of adjective alt.
Noun edit
Alter m (adjectival, definite nominative der Alte, genitive (des) Alten, plural Alte, definite plural die Alten, feminine Alte)
- nominalization of alt (“someone or something old or bygone”)
- old man; old person
- (colloquial) mate, bloke (UK); dude, guy (US); a somewhat intimate or mildly dismissive word for a man, especially but not exclusively used as a vocative
- Synonyms: (regional) Keule, Mann, Kumpel, Digga
- Alter! Komm zurück, wir müssen hier links.
- Dude! Come back, we need to go left here.
- Haste ma ’n Euro für was zu essen, Alter?
- You got a euro for summat to eat, mate?
- Wenn irgendso’n Alter hier Ärger macht, schmeiß ihn gleich raus.
- If some bloke acts up in here, kick him right out.
- Ihr Alter hat sie sitzen lassen. ― Her guy jilted her.
Declension edit
Declension of Alter [masculine, adjectival]
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
masculine gender | strong declension | |||
nominative | Alter | Alte | ||
genitive | Alten | Alter | ||
dative | Altem | Alten | ||
accusative | Alten | Alte | ||
weak declension | ||||
nominative | der | Alte | die | Alten |
genitive | des | Alten | der | Alten |
dative | dem | Alten | den | Alten |
accusative | den | Alten | die | Alten |
mixed declension | ||||
nominative | ein | Alter | (keine) | Alten |
genitive | eines | Alten | (keiner) | Alten |
dative | einem | Alten | (keinen) | Alten |
accusative | einen | Alten | (keine) | Alten |
Interjection edit
Alter
- (colloquial, chiefly slang) man, dude, mate; used for emphasis
- Alter, was denn hier los?
- Man, what’s going on in here?
Usage notes edit
- This use is derived from the word for a man above and is not always clearly distinguishable from it. It is more marked as slang, however, and is also quite common when addressing a female (the latter part in line with the more usual synonym Mann).
Alternative forms edit
Etymology 3 edit
Noun edit
Alter f
Further reading edit
Luxembourgish edit
Etymology edit
From German Alter n. The masculine gender, though existing dialectally in German, is probably triggered by French âge.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Alter m (plural Alteren)