ver·sus

[vur-suhs, -suhz]
preposition
1.
against (used especially to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denote competing teams or players in a sports contest): Smith versus Jones; Army versus Navy.
2.
as compared to or as one of two choices; in contrast with: traveling by plane versus traveling by train. Abbreviation: v., vs.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin: towards, i.e., turned so as to face (something), opposite, over against, orig. past participle of vertere to turn; see verse

verses, versus.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
versus (ˈvɜːsəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
prep
1.  v, vs (esp in a competition or lawsuit) against; in opposition to
2.  as opposed to; in contrast with
 
[C15: from Latin: turned (in the direction of), opposite, from vertere to turn]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Versus is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

versus
mid-15c., in legal case names, denoting action of one party against another, from L. versus "turned toward or against," from pp. of vertere "to turn," from PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (cf. O.E. -weard "toward," originally "turned toward," weorthan "to befall," wyrd "fate,
destiny," lit. "what befalls one;" Skt. vartate "turns round, rolls;" Avestan varet- "to turn;" L. vertere (freq. versare) "to turn;" O.C.S. vruteti "to turn, roll," Rus. vreteno "spindle, distaff;" Lith. verciu "to turn;" Gk. rhatane "stirrer, ladle;" Ger. werden, O.E. weorðan "to become," for sense, cf. "to turn into;" Welsh gwerthyd "spindle, distaff;" O.Ir. frith "against").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Again, self-presentation and public versus private image were key concepts.
Once you have a folder of ideas, it's time to do a reality check on needs versus desires.
It would be interesting to have these statistics shown separately for elected boards versus appointed boards.
The researchers investigated the honey's activities versus three bacterial
  species that commonly infect wounds.
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