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[uhth -er] /ˈʌð ər/
additional or further:
he and one other person.
different or distinct from the one or ones already mentioned or implied: I'd like to live in some other city. The TV show follows the lives of people who are married, single, or other.
The application gives three gender choices—male, female, and other.
different in nature or kind:
I would not have him other than he is.
being the remaining one of two or more:
the other hand.
(used with plural nouns) being the remaining ones of a number:
the other men; some other countries.
former; earlier:
sailing ships of other days.
not long past:
the other night.
the other one:
Each praises the other.
(often initial capital letter). form,
  1. a group or member of a group that is perceived as different, foreign, strange, etc.:
    Prejudice comes from fear of the other.
  2. a person or thing that is the counterpart of someone or something else:
    the role of the Other in the development of self.
Usually, others. other persons or things:
others in the medical profession.
some person or thing else:
Surely some friend or other will help me.
otherwise; differently (usually followed by than):
We can't collect the rent other than by suing the tenant.
verb (used with object)
to perceive or treat (a group or member of a group) as different, foreign, strange, etc.:
Female murderers are othered by characterizing them as psychological oddities.
every other, every alternate:
a meeting every other week.
Origin of other
before 900; Middle English; Old English ōther (pronoun, adj., and noun); cognate with German ander, Gothic anthar; akin to Sanskrit antara- Unabridged
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Examples from the Web for others
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • The Landscape with Ruins (No. 746) is perhaps the finest of the others there.

    Six Centuries of Painting Randall Davies
  • Were others angry: I excused them too; Well might they rage, I gave them but their due.

    Essay on Man Alexander Pope
  • In most savage religions there is a principal deity to whom the others are subordinate.

    History of Religion Allan Menzies
  • And Clif had no doubt there were half a dozen others following.

    A Prisoner of Morro Upton Sinclair

    A Master of Mysteries L. T. Meade
British Dictionary definitions for others


  1. (when used before a sing noun, usually preceded by the) the remaining (one or ones in a group of which one or some have been specified): I'll read the other sections of the paper later
  2. the other, (as pronoun; functioning as sing): one walks while the other rides
(a) different (one or ones from that or those already specified or understood): he found some other house, no other man but you, other days were happier
additional; further: there are no other possibilities
(preceded by every) alternate; two: it buzzes every other minute
other than
  1. apart from; besides: a lady other than his wife
  2. different from: he couldn't be other than what he is Archaic form other from
(archaic) no other, nothing else: I can do no other
(preceded by a phrase or word with some) or other, used to add vagueness to the preceding pronoun, noun, noun phrase, or adverb: some dog or other bit him, he's somewhere or other
other things being equal, conditions being the same or unchanged
the other day, a few days ago
the other thing, an unexpressed alternative
another: show me one other
(pl) additional or further ones: the police have found two and are looking for others
(pl) other people or things
the others, the remaining ones (of a group): take these and leave the others
(pl) different ones (from those specified or understood): they'd rather have others, not these See also each other, one another
(usually used with a negative and foll by than) otherwise; differently: they couldn't behave other than they do
Word Origin
Old English ōther; related to Old Saxon āthar, ōthar, Old High German andar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for others



Old English oþer "the second" (adj.), also as a pronoun, "one of the two, other," from Proto-Germanic *antharaz (cf. Old Saxon athar, Old Frisian other, Old Norse annarr, Middle Dutch and Dutch ander, Old High German andar, German ander, Gothic anþar "other").

These are from PIE *an-tero-, variant of *al-tero- "the other of two" (cf. Lithuanian antras, Sanskrit antarah "other, foreign," Latin alter), from root *al- "beyond" (see alias) + adjectival comparative suffix *-tero-. The Old English, Old Saxon, and Old Frisian forms show "a normal loss of n before fricatives" [Barnhart]. Meaning "different" is mid-13c.

Sense of "second" was detached from this word in English (which uses second, from Latin) and German (zweiter, from zwei "two") to avoid ambiguity. In Scandinavian, however, the second floor is still the "other" floor (e.g. Swedish andra, Danish anden). Also cf. Old English oþergeara "next year."



Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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