Alter

See also: alter, älter, and alter-

German

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈaltər/
    • (most of Germany, some of Austria) IPA(key): [ˈʔaltɐ]
    • (Switzerland, some of Germany and Austria) IPA(key): [ˈʔaltər]
  • (interjection) IPA(key): /ˈal(d)ɐ/
  • audio (Austria)(file)
  • Audio(file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German alter, from Old High German altar, from Proto-Germanic *aldrą. Cognate with German Low German Oller.

Noun

Alter n (strong, genitive Alters, plural Alter)

  1. age, old age
    • 1834, Rahel. Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde. Erster Theil, Berlin, page 275:
      Sie sind Eines Alters [...]
      They are of the same age [...]
  2. antiquity
  3. epoch, age
Declension
Declension of Alter [neuter, strong]
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
  • → Luxembourgish: Alter

See also

Etymology 2

Nominalization of adjective alt.

Noun

Alter m (adjectival, definite nominative der Alte, genitive (des) Alten, plural Alte, definite plural die Alten, feminine Alte)

  1. nominalization of alt (“someone or something old or bygone”)
  2. old man; old person
  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
    Synonyms: (regional) Keule, Mann, Kumpel, Digga
    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?
    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
Declension of Alter [masculine, adjectival]
singular plural
masculine 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, mate; 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).
Alternative forms

Noun

Alter f

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

Further reading
  • “Alter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “Alter” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • “Alter” in Duden online
  • “Alter” in Duden online

Luxembourgish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ˈɑl.tɐ]

Noun

Alter m (plural Alteren)

  1. age
  2. old age
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