Etymology

alter

al·ter
A1L1T1E1R1

Today it means: To change the form or structure of. Full definition →

Old French alterer ← Medieval Latin alterāre ← Latin alter
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alter · verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromalter“the other”
  2. Medieval Latin · derived fromalterāre“to make other”
  3. Old French · derived fromalterer
  4. English todayalter

From Old French alterer (French altérer), from Medieval Latin alterāre (“to make other”), from Latin alter (“the other”), from al- (seen in alius (“other”), alienus (“of another”), etc.; see alias, alien, etc.) + compar. suffix -ter.

alter · noun2

Probably from alter ego.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.