1513, from L. alternus "one after the other," pp. of alternare "to do first one thing, then the other," from alternus "every other," from alter "the other" (see alter). The verb is recorded from 1599; the noun meaning "a substitute" is first attested 1848. Alternative with the counter-culture sense of "better than the establishment" is attested from 1970, originally with reference to the press. Alternate means "by turns;" alternative (1590) means "offering a choice." Both imply two kinds or things.
every second one of a series; "the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays"; "jam every other day"- the White Queen
2.
serving or used in place of another; "an alternative plan"
3.
occurring by turns; first one and then the other; "alternating feelings of love and hate"
4.
of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired; "stems with alternate leaves" [ant: opposite]
noun
1.
someone who takes the place of another person [syn: surrogate]
verb
1.
go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
2.
exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions
3.
be an understudy or alternate for a role [syn: understudy]
4.
reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) [syn: interchange]
5.
do something in turns; "We take turns on the night shift"
to use, do etc by turns, repeatedly, one after the other Example: John alternates between teaching and studying; He tried to alternate red and yellow tulips along the path as he planted them.
Arabic:
يَتَنَاوَب
Chinese (Simplified):
交替
Chinese (Traditional):
交替
Czech:
střídat (se)
Danish:
veksle; skifte
Dutch:
afwisselen
Estonian:
vaheldama
Finnish:
vuorotella
French:
(faire) alterner
German:
abwechselnd
Greek:
εναλλάσσω, εναλλάσσομαι
Hungarian:
váltogat
Icelandic:
skiptast á, hafa til skiptis
Indonesian:
saling berganti
Italian:
alternare
Japanese:
交互にする
Korean:
교대하다
Latvian:
mainīt
Lithuanian:
kaitalioti(s)
Norwegian:
skiftes (om), veksle, alternere
Polish:
zmieniać kolejno
Portuguese (Brazil):
alternar
Portuguese (Portugal):
alternar
Romanian:
a alterna
Russian:
чередовать(ся)
Slovak:
striedať
Slovenian:
menjavati
Spanish:
alternar
Swedish:
alternera
Turkish:
sırayla kullanmak, nöbetleşe yapmak
alternate1[ˈoːltəneitoːlˈtəːnət]adjective
coming, happening etc in turns, one after the other Example: The water came in alternate bursts of hot and cold.
Arabic:
يَتَعَاقَب
Chinese (Simplified):
交替的
Chinese (Traditional):
交替的
Czech:
střídavý
Danish:
skiftevis; vekslende
Dutch:
afwisselend
Estonian:
vahelduv
Finnish:
vuoroittainen
French:
alterné
German:
abwechselnd
Greek:
εναλλασσόμενος
Hungarian:
váltakozó
Icelandic:
sem skiptist á
Indonesian:
bergantian
Italian:
alternato
Japanese:
交互の
Korean:
번갈아 드는
Latvian:
mainīgs
Lithuanian:
besikaitaliojantis
Norwegian:
skiftevis, vekslende
Polish:
występujący na przemian
Portuguese (Brazil):
alternado
Portuguese (Portugal):
alternado
Romanian:
succesiv
Russian:
чередующийся
Slovak:
striedavý
Slovenian:
menjajoč se
Spanish:
alterno, alternado
Swedish:
omväxlande
Turkish:
sıralı, biribirini izleyen
alternate2[ˈoːltəneitoːlˈtəːnət]adjective
every second (day, week etc) Example: My friend and I take the children to school on alternate days.
Al*ter"nate\ (?; 277), a. [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternate, fr. alternus. See Altern, Alter.]1. Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal. And bid alternate passions fall and rise. --Pope. 2. Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.; read every alternate line. 3. (Bot.) Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence. --Gray. Alternate alligation. See Alligation. Alternate angles (Geom.), the internal and angles made by two lines with a third, on opposite sides of it. It the parallels AB, CD, are cut by the line EF, the angles AGH, GHD, as also the angles BGH and GHC, are called alternate angles. Alternate generation. (Biol.) See under Generation.
Al*ter"nate\ (?; 277), n. 1. That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. [R.] Grateful alternates of substantial. --Prior. 2. A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty. 3. (Math.) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.
Al"ter*nate\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alternated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alternating.] [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternare. See Altern.] To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly. The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends alternates the disposition of good and evil. --Grew.
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Audio Help [v. awl-ter-neyt, al-; adj., n. awl-ter-nit, al-] Pronunciation Key verb, -nat·ed, -nat·ing, adjective, noun 
