Alter

See also: alter, älter, and alter-

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaltər/
  • (most of Germany, some of Austria) IPA^(key): [ˈʔaltɐ]
  • (Switzerland, some of Germany and Austria) IPA^(key): [ˈʔaltər]
• (interjection) IPA^(key): /ˈal(d)ɐ/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German alter, from Old High German altar, from Proto-Germanic *aldrą. Cognate with German Low German Oller.

Noun

Alter n (strong, genitive Alters, plural Alter)

1. 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 [...]

2. antiquity
3. epoch, age

Declension

Declension of Alter [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Alter	die	Alter
genitive	eines	des	Alters	der	Alter
dative	einem	dem	Alter	den	Altern
accusative	ein	das	Alter	die	Alter

Derived terms

• Altertum

Related terms

• Altersangabe
• Altersaufbau
• Altersdiskriminierung
• Altersdurchschnitt
• Alterserscheinung
• Altersfrage
• Altersgrenze
• Altersgruppe
• Altersheim
• Alterspyramide
• Altertum
• Jugendalter
• Mittelalter
• Steinzeitalter
• Zeitalter

 

Descendants

• → Luxembourgish: Alter

See also

• alters (Alters)

Etymology 2

Nominalization of adjective alt.

Noun

Alter m (adjectival, definite nominative der Alte, genitive (des) Alten, plural Alte, definite plural die Alten, feminine Alte)

1. nominalization of alt (“someone or something old or bygone”)
2. old man; old person
3. (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

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

Alter

1. (colloquial, chiefly slang) man, dude, mate; used for emphasis

   Alter, was denn hier los?

   Man, what’s going on in here?

Usage notes

• 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

• Alda, Alla

Etymology 3

Noun

Alter f

1. inflection of Alte:
   1. strong genitive/dative singular
   2. strong genitive plural

Further reading

• “Alter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Alter” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Alter” in Duden online
• “Alter” in Duden online

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From German Alter n. The masculine gender, though existing dialectally in German, is probably triggered by French âge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɑl.tɐ]

Noun

Alter m (plural Alteren)

1. age
2. old age