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alt
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Translingual • English
Aromanian • Azerbaijani • Catalan • Central Franconian • Cimbrian • Crimean Gothic • Czech • Danish • Daur • Dutch • Faroese • Friulian • German • Hungarian • Ingrian • Irish • Italian • Khalaj • Lombard • Luxembourgish • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Dutch • Old High German • Old Irish • Pennsylvania German • Polish • Romanian • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Turkish • Zipser German
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Translingual
Symbol
alt
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɔːlt/, /ɒlt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɑlt/, (altitude) /ælt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːlt, -ɒlt
Etymology 1
From Latin altus (“high”). Doublet of old and alto.
Noun
alt (uncountable)
- (music) Of a voice or instrument, high pitch; especially, the octave above the top line of the treble stave. [from 16th c.]
- 1762, George Colman, The Musical Lady:
- Sop[hy] Moderato! moderato! Madam. Your Ladyship's absolutely in alt. / L[ady] Scr[ape] In alt! Madam? / Sop[hy] Yes, in alt- Give me leave to tell your Ladyship, that you have raised your voice a full octave higher since you came into the room.
- 1794, Mrs. Bennett (Agnes Maria), Ellen, Countess of Castle Howel: A Novel, volume 1:
- The duet was in alt; one stormed, the other half crying, half scolding, made up in volubility what her aunt possessed in authority, and it was not 'till Lady Meredith had twice raised her mild voice, either party could be silenced.
- 1857, Anne Manning, Helen and Olga: a Russian tale, page 194:
- And he began, — "Poor insect! born to flutter and to die;" — falling into the second, directly Helen took the first, till he got down to such unreasonable bass that he suddenly gave a shriek in alt that made Olga stop her ears.
- (now archaic) A state of excitement, a heightened emotional condition. [from 18th c.]
- 1748, Samuel Richardson, The History of Clarissa Harlowe: In a Series of Letters:
- I was, however, glad at my heart, that Mrs. Moore came up so seasonably with notice, that dinner was ready. The fair fugitive was all in alt. She had the game in her own hands; and by giving me so good an excuse for withdrawing, I had time to strengthen myself; the Captain had time to come; and the Lady to cool.
- c. 1875, Charles James Lever, The Dodd Family Abroad:
- "Not," added she, as her eyes glittered with anger, and she sidled near the door for an exit—" not but, in the estimation of others, you may be quite an Adonis—a young gentleman of wit and fashion —a beau of the first water; I have no doubt Mary Jane thinks so— you old wretch!" This, in alt, and a bang of the door that brought down an oil picture that hung over it, closed the scene.
- 1891, Douglas William Jerrold, Tales: now first collected, page 113:
- He had no wish to pry or listen; but if people would talk in alt, whilst he moved, like a mole, about his business, family matters would cleave the ear which, however it tried, could not be deaf.
- 2011, Jo Beverley, “The Marrying Maid”, in Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love, page 50:
- That lady was in alt at Loxsleigh's high station and had spent the morning making inquiries of her friends, which also allowed her to spread the word about her interesting new acquaintance.
Etymology 2
Abbreviations.
Adjective
alt (not comparable)
- Clipping of alternate.
- 2021, Rhian Jones, Lucy Heyman, Sound Advice: The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy and Successful Career in Music, Shoreditch Press, →ISBN:
- […] Adele, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Frank Ocean, Drake, and Ed Sheeran are among many artists who don't appear to spend a lot of time online (or if they do, it's using alt accounts).
- Clipping of alternative, especially as a cultural phenomenon seen as being outside the mainstream of its genre.
- Synonym: alt- (prefix)
- alt medicine
- 2023 March 5, Miranda Sawyer, “Sleaford Mods: ‘The UK is like a crazy golf course – all we’ve got left are landmarks’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Fearn is thoughtful and deeply alt (“I’ve always been an oddball”), less demonstrative but more confident.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:alt.
Derived terms
Noun
alt (plural alts)
- Clipping of altitude.
- (Internet slang, gaming) An alternate or secondary character.
- (Internet slang) An alternate account.
- Hyponym: sock puppet
- You've been here four days and you already know about the incident from last year? You're such an obvious alt.
- (finance) An alternative investment or alternative fund.
- liquid alts
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Noun
alt (plural alts)
- Synonym of altbier.
- 1999, Brian Glover, The Complete Guide to Beer, Barnes & Noble, →ISBN, page 146:
- Top-fermenting ales are still brewed, notably the alts of Düsseldorf and kölsches of Cologne.
- 2000, Ray Daniels, Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles, Brewers Publications:
- On average, the mash temperatures used in the NHC second-round alts and kölschs were higher, at 153 °F (67 °C) and 151 °F (66 °C) respectively.
- 2015, Mark Dredge, The Best Beer in the World: One Man’s Globe Search for the Perfect Pint, Dog ‘n’ Bone Books, →ISBN:
- In the last two days I have drunk 10 different beers in each city and feel the Kölsches were within a narrower flavor profile, being relatively similar to each other, whereas Alts had more range of aroma and flavor.
- 2016, Tim Hampson, The 50 Greatest Beers of the World, Icon Books:
- Ale yeasts are often described as top fermenting, but top cropping would probably be a better description: the yeast ferments at all levels throughout the liquid, but once its work is done it collects at the top of the fermenting vessel (traditionally these vessels would have been open at the top). Family members include bitters, porters, stouts, alts and kölschs.
Anagrams
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Aromanian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Adjective
Azerbaijani
Pronunciation
Noun
alt (definite accusative altı, plural altlar)
Declension
Derived terms
- altında (“under”)
Adjective
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Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
alt (feminine alta, masculine plural alts, feminine plural altes)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “alt”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
- “alt”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
- “alt” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “alt” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
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Central Franconian
Alternative forms
- aod, auw (Kirchröadsj)
- oot (westernmost Ripuarian)
Etymology
From Middle High German alt, fromOld High German ald, northern variant of alt. The variation between the stems alt and aal is due to the development -ald- → -āl-, which occurred only in open syllables.
Pronunciation
Adjective
alt (masculine aale, feminine aal, comparative aaler or ääler or älder, superlative aalste or äälste or ältste)
- (most dialects) old
- Von aale Löck ka’ mer noch jet liehre. ― There’s something to be learnt from old people.
- Dat aal Huus möt mer ens renoviere. ― That old house should be renovated sometime.
Usage notes
Inflection
Related terms
- Eldere
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Cimbrian
Etymology
From Middle High German alt, from Old High German alt, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz. Cognate with German alt, Dutch oud, English old, Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis).
Adjective
alt (comparative éltor, superlative dar éltorste)
- (most dialects) old, elderly
- an alta brau ― an elderly lady
- an altar mann ― an old man
- an altes baip ― an elderly wife
- an altes ménle ― a little old man
- alte lòite ― elderly people
- De belt ist alt. ― The world is old.
Declension
Positive forms of alt
Comparative forms of alt
Superlative forms of alt
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- “alt” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974), Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
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Crimean Gothic
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aldaz.
Adjective
alt
- old
- 1562, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Legationis Turcicae Epistolae Quatuor:
- Alt. Senex.
- Old. Old.
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
alt m inan
Declension
Declension of alt (hard masculine inanimate)
Danish
Pronoun
alt
Daur
Noun
alt
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from German Alt, ultimately from Latin altus. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
Noun
alt m (plural alten, diminutive altje n)
Noun
alt f (plural alten, diminutive altje n)
- a woman singing or playing the alto part
Usage notes
The word alt is feminine when it's used to indicate a woman singing or playing the alto part.
Derived terms
- altsleutel
- altstem
- altviool
Anagrams
Faroese
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
alt n (masculine allur, feminine øll)
Declension
Adverb
alt
Friulian
Etymology
Adjective
alt
Related terms
Noun
alt m (plural alts)
German
Etymology
From Middle High German alt, from Old High German alt, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz, from Proto-Indo-European *altós, *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“grow, nourish”). Compare Dutch oud, Low German old, West Frisian âld, English old. Doublet of Alt, a loanword from Italian.
Pronunciation
Adjective
alt (strong nominative masculine singular alter, comparative älter, superlative am ältesten)
- old
- Wie alt bist du? ― How old are you?
- ancient
- elderly (inflected in the comparative)
- ältere Menschen ― the elderly
Declension
Positive forms of alt
Comparative forms of alt
Superlative forms of alt
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
Further reading
- “alt” in Duden online
- “alt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “alt” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
Hungarian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Noun
alt (countable and uncountable, plural altok)
Declension
Further reading
- alt in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
- alt in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).
Ingrian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *alta. Cognates include Finnish alta.
Pronunciation
Adverb
alt
- (of motion) from underneath
Postposition
alt (+ genitive)
Antonyms
- päält (“off”)
References
- V. I. Junus (1936), Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 136
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 11
- Arvo Laanest (1997), Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 19
- Olga I. Konkova; Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014), Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку, →ISBN, page 14
Irish
Italian
Khalaj
Lombard
Luxembourgish
Northern Kurdish
Norwegian Bokmål
Norwegian Nynorsk
Old Dutch
Old High German
Old Irish
Pennsylvania German
Polish
Romanian
Scottish Gaelic
Serbo-Croatian
Turkish
Zipser German
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