Meanings
plural othernesses
- uncountableThe quality of being different or distinct.
1 more example
As Floya Anthias argues in her chapter, there is a need to fight against all those constructions of difference and identity that exclude and devalorise, and against all those social practices that construct identities and differences in naturalised, collectivised and binary ways and in terms of hierarchical otherness, unequal resource allocation and modes of inferiorisation (see also Anthias 1998a).
2002, Floya Anthias, Cathie Lloyd, Rethinking Anti-racisms: From Theory to Practice, →ISBN, page 9
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe quality of being not alike; being distinct or different from that otherwise experienced or known
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énteros
- Proto-Germanic*anþeraz
- Proto-West Germanic*anþar
- Old Englishōþer
- Middle Englishother
- Englishother
- Englishotherness
Translations
Bulgarian различност
- различност (različnost)the quality of being different or distinct
Czech jinakost
- jinakostthe quality of being different or distinct
Dutch anderszijn
- anderszijnthe quality of being different or distinct
French altérité
- altéritéthe quality of being different or distinct
German Anderssein, Andersartigkeit
- Andersseinthe quality of being different or distinct
- Andersartigkeitthe quality of being different or distinct
- Alteritätthe quality of being different or distinct
Hungarian másféleség, különbözőség
- másféleségthe quality of being different or distinct
- különbözőségthe quality of being different or distinct
- másságthe quality of being different or distinct
Irish eachtarthacht, eileacht
- eachtarthachtthe quality of being different or distinct
- eileachtthe quality of being different or distinct
Polish inność
- innośćthe quality of being different or distinct
Portuguese alteridade
- alteridadethe quality of being different or distinct
Spanish otredad
- otredadthe quality of being different or distinct
Cite this entry
otherness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/otherness
“otherness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/otherness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “otherness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/otherness.
Source: otherness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.