Where does “alternative” come from?

alternative (French) comes from Latin alternativus, from Latin alternātus, from Latin alternō, from Latin alternus, from Latin alter, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élteros, from Proto-Indo-European h₂el- — to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam.

alternative (French): feminine singular of alternatif; alternative

Definitions

feminine singular of alternatif; alternative

Ancestry of “alternative”, step by step

alternative traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin alternativus

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Latin	alternativus	alternating
2	Latin	alternātus	alternated, vacillated
3	Latin	alternō	to do one thing and then another, do by turns, interchange, alternate
4	Latin	alternus	alternate (one after the other), successive
5	Latin	alter	the other, the second; the one...the other
6	Proto-Indo-European	h₂élteros	other , second
7	Proto-Indo-European	h₂el-	to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam

via Medieval Latin alternativus

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Medieval Latin	alternativus	alternating
2	Latin	alternare	present active infinitive of alternō;...

Words derived from “alternative”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂el- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂élteros →Every word from Latin alter →