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other(2) (iou)



other adjective (in mod. usage also classed as a determiner), pronoun, noun, & adverb1.
[Old English oTer = Old Frisian other, Old Saxon oTar, andar, Old High German andar (Dutch, German ander), Old Norse annarr, Gothic anTar, from Indo-European (cf. Latin alter (see ALTER verb), Avestan, Sanskrit antara).]
A. adjective.
One of two. rare. OE-L16.
That remain(s) from a specified or implied group of two or (later) more. Usu. preceded by the, my, etc. OE.
D. H. Lawrence The boy tried to creep over..the roof and escape down the other side. Scott Fitzgerald The first song he had chosen..followed, after a slight interval, by his other choice. P. Newton The other four..were playing pitch and toss. I. Murdoch That's what the Mafia do, they frighten all the other villains. A. N. Wilson He told them to turn the other cheek if they were struck.
That follows the first; second. OE-L16.
Existing besides or distinct from that or those already specified or implied; further, additional. (Also following or (now only in other such below) preceding a numeral or determiner.) See also ANOTHER 1. OE.
James Robertson St Bridget and other nine virgins. H. James His face told clearly of youth and kindness..but it had little other beauty. G. Greene It was by no means certain that there would not be other deaths. E. McBain The minister and two other people were killed. G. Gordon Easily absorbed..into the fabric of their lives, like any other experience. U. Bentley She had a distressing appetite for romantic slush, and, indeed, other kinds of slush.
Different in kind or quality. Formerly also used pleonastically before adjectives. (Foll. by than, but, (arch.) from.) See also ANOTHER 2. ME.
R. Bentley Immortal Vellum..that could last..in spite of all damp and moisture, that moulders other mortal skins. Sir W. Scott Far other scene her thoughts recall. D. Adams We get in his tri-jet which he had souped up into something totally other. A. Brookner At home with Christine, who did not urge her to be other than she was.
Phrases & comb.: do the other thing colloq. (a) do the opposite of what has been suggested or specified previously; (b) have sexual intercourse. every other every second , every alternate . go to the other extreme: see EXTREME noun. in other words: see WORD noun. laugh on the other side of one's face, laugh on the other side of one's mouth: see LAUGH verb. on the other hand: see HAND noun. otherguise adjective = OTHERGUESS. other half: see HALF noun. otherkins adjective (long obsolete exc. dial.) [KIN noun, -S3] of another kind. other life the life after death. other ranks Military non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers, seamen, etc. other some (now arch. & dial.) (a) some other ; (b) some others. other such adjectival & noun phr. (a) adjectival phr. other similar; also pleonastically with like; (b) noun phr. others of a similar kind. other than besides; (see also sense 5 above). othertimes adverb at other times. otherways adverb (obsolete exc. dial.) otherwise. otherwhere adverb & noun (arch.) (in or to) another place. otherwheres adverb (arch.) in or to another place. otherwhile(s) adverb (obsolete exc. dial.) (a) at times; now and then; (b) at another time, or at other times. other world (a) a world supposedly inhabited after death, as heaven, hell, etc. (the other world, heaven, hell); (b) an imaginary ideal or fantastic world. pull the other one: see PULL verb. quite other: see QUITE adverb. the other day, the other night, the other week, etc. (a) the following or next day, night, week, etc.; (b) the preceding day, night, week, etc.; (c) a few days, nights, weeks, etc., ago. the other man, the other woman the lover of a married or similarly attached woman or man. the other night: see the other day above. the other place (a) hell (as opp. to heaven); (b) joc. Oxford University as regarded from Cambridge University and vice versa; (c) the House of Lords as regarded from the House of Commons and vice versa. the other side (a) heaven, hell; the abode of the dead; (b) Austral. & NZ slang a place (as a State) separated by a border etc. or otherwise distant from the speaker; spec. a place in the northern hemisphere; (c) an opponent, an opposing side; (d) the other side of the coin: see COIN noun; the other side of the hill: see SIDE noun. the other way about, the other way around, the other way round: see WAY noun. the other week: see the other day above. the other woman: see the other man above. the other world: see other world above. the shoe is on the other foot: see SHOE noun.
b. pronoun & noun.
I. One of (the) two. OE-ME.
That which follows the first; the second. OE-ME.
The remaining one of two or (later) more, after enumeration or allusion. OE.
C. Isherwood Neither one of us would want to keep on the animals if the other wasn't there. I. Murdoch The spires..heavily shadowed on one side and defined on the other. J. Simms We waited in silence for the other to speak.
b. Each preceding one (in turn). Long obsolete exc. Scot. dial. ME.
Shakespeare Measure for Measure Every letter he hath writ hath disvouch'd other.
In pl. & (orig.) sing. treated as pl. The remaining ones, the rest. OE.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream Awaking when the other do. C. S. Lewis They decided to play hide-and-seek. Susan was 'It' and..the others scattered to hide.
a. sing. Another person or thing of a kind specified or understood contextually; another person. Now only preceded by any, no, none, one, some (see also ANOTHER) and in one or other; some or other, an unspecified . OE.
J. Conrad For some reason or other this last statement of hers brought me immense comfort. C. Jackson He was the man for her, and she felt there would be no other.
b. In pl. & (arch.) sing. treated as pl. Other persons or things of a kind specified or understood contextually; other people. OE.
J. Buchan A diary of a pilgrimage..might interest others who travel a like road. E. Waugh One can write, think and pray exclusively of others. C. Brayfield His office and several others were ransacked. Encounter Not..the kind of person who undertook, as other of our friends..to argue.
c. Another thing; something else. Usu. in neg. contexts. arch. OE.
sing. & in pl. Each other, one another. Long only Scot. ME.
II.
the other, sexual activity; sexual intercourse. slang. E20.
D. H. Lawrence She loved me..to kiss her...But the other, she just didn't want.
Phrases & comb.: EACH other. go in at one ear and out at the other, go in one ear and out the other: see EAR noun1. of all others out of the many possible or likely. other-directed adjective governed by external circumstances and trends. significant other: see SIGNIFICANT adjective. something or other: see SOMETHING pronoun & noun. this, that, and the other, this, that, or the other: see THIS pronoun etc.
C. adverb. Otherwise than. ME.
Law Times It is impossible to refer to them..other than very cursorily. L. Grant-Adamson It was too late to do other than let him race about the back garden.
otherness noun the quality or fact of being other or different; a different or separate thing (to something previously specified): L16.