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
Declension of Alter
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

Descendants

See also

Noun

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

  1. nominalization of alt (“someone or something old or bygone”)
  2. old man; old person (male or of unspecified sex)
  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
    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? (by a homeless person)
    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
Inflection of Alter
singular plural
m 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; 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).

Synonyms

Noun

Alter f

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

References

Luxembourgish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈalteʀ/, [ˈɑltɐ]

Noun

Alter m (plural Alteren)

  1. age
  2. old age
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