"other, another" in seven languages
Meaningother, another
Spanish
otro
/ˈotɾo/
inherited
No article for 'another': otro café (never *un otro).
French
autre
/otʁ/
inherited
'Another' is un autre.
Italian
altro
/ˈaltro/
inherited
'Another' is un altro.
Portuguese
outro
/ˈowtɾu/
inherited
Romanian
alt
/alt/
inherited
With the article it becomes celălalt 'the other one'.
Catalan
altre
/ˈaltɾə/
inherited
English
other
/ˈʌðɚ/
native English · Old English ōþer
English → Italianother, anotheraltroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: alter, alternative, altruism.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ALTERUM‘the other (of two)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Italian kept the l; French turned it into u (aultre → autre) and Spanish went further, through au, to o. Watch the article: Spanish 'another coffee' is just otro café.
English relatives: alter, alternative, altruism
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esMe llevo el otro.
- frJe prends l'autre.
- itPrendo l'altro.
- ptVou levar o outro.
- roÎl iau pe celălalt.
- caEm quedo l'altre.
- enI'll take the other one.