Alter

See also: alter, älter, and alter-

German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • (most of Germany, some of Austria) IPA(key): /ˈaltər/, [ˈʔältʰɐ], [ˈʔaltʰɐ], [ˈʔɑltɑ]
  • (Switzerland, some of Germany and Austria) IPA(key): /ˈaltər/, [ˈʔɑltər]
  • audio (Austria)(file)
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Alter n (genitive Alters, plural Alter)

  1. age, old age
    • 1834, Rahel. Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde. Erster Theil, Berlin, p. 275:
      Sie sind Eines Alters [...]
      They are of the same age [...]
  2. antiquity
  3. epoch, age

Declension

Derived terms

See also

Noun

Alter m (genitive Alten, plural Alte, feminine Alte)

  1. old man; in the plural also old person
  2. (slang, used in the vocative) dude

Usage notes

  • While the slang term started out as a way to refer to males, its usage is not uncommon among females. The term is in the process of shifting towards being used more as an exclamation, similar to dude in American English.

Declension

References

Luxembourgish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑltɐ/

Noun

Alter m (plural Alteren)

  1. age
  2. old age
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