Where does “alternatively” come from?
Alternatively derives from English alternative, which combines the prefix ad- and Latin alter meaning "other," with the suffix -ivus from Proto-Indo-European -iHwós, filtered through Old English -līċ and Middle French alternatif.
alternatively (English): in an alternative way
Ancestry of “alternatively”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | alternative | Relating to a choice between two or more... |
| 2 | Middle French | alternatif | alternating; alternative |
| 3 | Latin | alternativus | alternating |
| 4 | Latin | alternātus | — |
| 5 | Latin | alternō | — |
| 6 | Latin | alternus | alternate , successive; interchangeable; mutual,... |
| 7 | Latin | alter | the other, the second; the one...the other |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élteros | other , second |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂el- | to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam |