altern

American  

[awl-tern, al-] / ˈɔl tərn, ˈæl- /

adjective

Archaic.

1. alternate; following one another.

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Etymology

Origin of altern

1635–45; < Latin altern ( us ) interchangeable, alternating, equivalent to alter the other ( see alter) + -nus adj. suffix

Example Sentences

At her side the young Duke of Altern shuffled, his long, thin body curved like a kangaroo, and his monocle bent superciliously upon the mass of common clay about him.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

Every afternoon found her yielding gently to the relentless demands of society, or to the tiresome calls of her thoroughly ardent wooer, the young Duke of Altern.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

I love the real you; not the vain, foolish, self-adoring 150 human concept, called the Duke of Altern.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

And generally, too, the young heir of Altern was there, occupying the chair next to the girl––which was quite as the solicitous Mrs. Hawley-Crowles had planned.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis

In the box at her left sat the Ames family, with their newly arrived guests, the Dowager Duchess of Altern and her son.

From Carmen Ariza by Stocking, Charles Francis