other
[uhth -er]
- additional or further: he and one other person.
- different or distinct from the one or ones already mentioned or implied: I'd like to live in some other city. The TV show follows the lives of people who are married, single, or other. The application gives three gender choices—male, female, and other.
- different in nature or kind: I would not have him other than he is.
- being the remaining one of two or more: the other hand.
- (used with plural nouns) being the remaining ones of a number: the other men; some other countries.
- former; earlier: sailing ships of other days.
- not long past: the other night.
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- the other one: Each praises the other.
- (often initial capital letter) the other,
- a group or member of a group that is perceived as different, foreign, strange, etc.: Prejudice comes from fear of the other.
- a person or thing that is the counterpart of someone or something else: the role of the Other in the development of self.
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- Usually others. other persons or things: others in the medical profession.
- some person or thing else: Surely some friend or other will help me.
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- otherwise; differently (usually followed by than): We can't collect the rent other than by suing the tenant.
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- to perceive or treat (a group or member of a group) as different, foreign, strange, etc.: Female murderers are othered by characterizing them as psychological oddities.
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- every other, every alternate: a meeting every other week.
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Origin of other
before 900; Middle English; Old English ōther (pronoun, adj., and noun); cognate with German ander, Gothic anthar; akin to Sanskrit antara-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for others
Contemporary Examples
And yet Dempsey and others have repeatedly said ISIS cannot be defeated militarily.
JSwipe definitely gives off less of a hookup vibe than others.
We also have a language filled with distaste for the civilian “others.”
The skateboarder is as irredeemably evil as the others are noble.
But in the days ahead he, his brother, and the others will be back in the street while their families worry at home.
Historical Examples
Some of these bright beings are speaking, and others are silent.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
The haughtiness of others can never make us angry, if we ourselves are humble.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
She was little concerned with the morality of her course as others might appraise it.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
They were apart from the others and for the moment unnoticed.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
In the distance they could see the others following ghostly lamps.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
other
- (when used before a singular noun, usually preceded by the)the remaining (one or ones in a group of which one or some have been specified)I'll read the other sections of the paper later
- the other(as pronoun; functioning as sing)one walks while the other rides
- (a) different (one or ones from that or those already specified or understood)he found some other house; no other man but you; other days were happier
- additional; furtherthere are no other possibilities
- (preceded by every) alternate; twoit buzzes every other minute
- other than
- apart from; besidesa lady other than his wife
- different fromhe couldn't be other than what he is Archaic form: other from
- no other archaic nothing elseI can do no other
- or other (preceded by a phrase or word with some) used to add vagueness to the preceding pronoun, noun, noun phrase, or adverbsome dog or other bit him; he's somewhere or other
- other things being equal conditions being the same or unchanged
- the other day a few days ago
- the other thing an unexpressed alternative
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- anothershow me one other
- (plural) additional or further onesthe police have found two and are looking for others
- (plural) other people or things
- the others the remaining ones (of a group)take these and leave the others
- (plural) different ones (from those specified or understood)they'd rather have others, not these See also each other, one another
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- (usually used with a negative and foll by than) otherwise; differentlythey couldn't behave other than they do
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Word Origin
Old English ōther; related to Old Saxon āthar, ōthar, Old High German andar
xref
See otherwise
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for others
other
adj.
Old English oþer "the second" (adj.), also as a pronoun, "one of the two, other," from Proto-Germanic *antharaz (cf. Old Saxon athar, Old Frisian other, Old Norse annarr, Middle Dutch and Dutch ander, Old High German andar, German ander, Gothic anþar "other").
These are from PIE *an-tero-, variant of *al-tero- "the other of two" (cf. Lithuanian antras, Sanskrit antarah "other, foreign," Latin alter), from root *al- "beyond" (see alias) + adjectival comparative suffix *-tero-. The Old English, Old Saxon, and Old Frisian forms show "a normal loss of n before fricatives" [Barnhart]. Meaning "different" is mid-13c.
Sense of "second" was detached from this word in English (which uses second, from Latin) and German (zweiter, from zwei "two") to avoid ambiguity. In Scandinavian, however, the second floor is still the "other" floor (e.g. Swedish andra, Danish anden). Also cf. Old English oþergeara "next year."
The other woman "a woman with whom a man begins a love affair while he is already committed" is from 1855. The other day originally (mid-12c.) was "the next day;" later (c.1300) "yesterday;" and now, loosely, "a day or two ago" (early 15c.). Phrase other half in reference to either the poor or the rich, is recorded from c.1600.
La moitié du monde ne sçayt comment l'aultre vit. [Rabelais, "Pantagruel," 1532]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with others
other
In addition to the idioms beginning with other
- other day, the
- other fish to fry
- other good fish in the sea
- other side of the coin
- other side of the tracks
- other than
- other things being equal
- other way round, the
also see:
- at each other's throats
- do unto others
- each other
- every other
- in one ear and out the other
- in someone's pocket (live in each other's pockets)
- in other words
- laugh out of the other side of one's mouth
- look the other way
- made for (each other)
- none other than
- on the one (the other) hand
- or other
- right (other) side of the tracks
- shoe is on the other foot
- six of one, half a dozen of the other
- the other day
- this and that (and the other)
- turn the other cheek
- wait for the other shoe to drop
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.