uter

See also: úter

Latin

Etymology 1

For *cuter, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷóteros, from *kʷos (“which”), ultimately from *kʷ-. Cognate with Ancient Greek πότερος (póteros, “which of the two”) and English whether.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈʊ.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.t̪er]

Adjective

uter (feminine utra, neuter utrum); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er, pronominal)

1. (interrogative) which (of two)?
   • 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 15.20.3.2:

     Pompeium Carteia receptum scribis; iam igitur contra hunc exercitum. Utra ergo castra? Media enim tollit Antonius.

     • 1999 translation by D. R. Shackleton Bailey

       You say that Pompey has been admitted into Carteia. So he’ll presently be bringing an army against Antony. Which camp then? For Antony is putting middle courses out of the question.

2. (relative) whichever (of two)
3. (indefinite) either, one or the other

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er, pronominal).

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	uter	utra	utrum		utrī	utrae	utra
genitive	utrī̆us				utrōrum	utrārum	utrōrum
dative	utrī				utrīs
accusative	utrum	utram	utrum		utrōs	utrās	utra
ablative	utrō	utrā	utrō		utrīs
vocative	uter	utra	utrum		utrī	utrae	utra

Derived terms

• alteruter
• neuter
• uterque
• utrubi

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative			indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal			indefinite	irrelative / emphatic	relative		indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	ecquis, ecqui, ecquisnam, ecquinam	quisnam, quinam	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual							uternam	uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem		ubinam	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem			unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	ecquo	quonam	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	ecqua	quanam	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque	°quāquam	nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem		utinam	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	utiquam, ūllō modō	neutiquam, nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	†num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	ecquando		quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity	†nam			tam	†tamen, †tandem			quam	†quamquam, quamcumque	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet	quamque	†quamquam
size				tantus	tantusdem			quantus	quantusquantus quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
size (smallness)				tantulus				quantulus, quantillus	quantuluscumque	aliquantulus	quantuluslibet
quality				tālis		ecqualis	qualisnam	quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet	qualisque		nihili
number				tot	totidem		quotnam	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus				quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns				quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet	quotiensque
time (continuous)				tamdiu				quamdiu	quamdiucumque	aliquamdiu		quamque diu
multiplication				totuplex				quotuplex
proportion								quotuplus
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimilated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Etymology 2

For *udris, from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”). Compare with Ancient Greek ὑδρία (hudría, “water-pot, pitcher”). Related to vitrum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈʊ.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈuː.t̪er]

Noun

uter m (genitive utris); third declension

1. wine or water skin or bottle
2. bag made of hide (inflated for flotation)

Declension

• Note: although the nominative and accusative plural was normally the masculine utrēs, the rare alternative neuter plural utria is also attested.

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	uter	utrēs utria
genitive	utris	utrium
dative	utrī	utribus
accusative	utrem	utrīs utrēs utria
ablative	utre	utribus
vocative	uter	utrēs

Derived terms

• utriculus

Descendants

• Aromanian: utri
• Catalan: odre
• → French: outre
• Galician: odre
• Italian: otre
• Piedmontese: oiro
• Portuguese: odre
• Sicilian: utri
• Spanish: odre

References

• “uter”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “uter”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “uter”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to offer a person the alternative of... or..: optionem alicui dare, utrum...an
    
  • (ambiguous) it is a debated point whether... or..: in contentione ponitur, utrum...an
    
• “uter”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
• Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “uter”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 646-647

Old High German

Alternative forms

• ūtar, ūtaro, ūtiro

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ūdarą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ewHdʰr̥-, *h₁ówHdʰr̥, *h₁uHdʰr̥- (“udder”).

Noun

ūter m

1. udder

Descendants

• Middle High German: ūter, iuter m or n
  • Cimbrian: autar n
  • German: Euter n
  • Luxembourgish: Auder m

References

• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), “u”, in Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎ (in German), 6th edition

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin uterus, French utérus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈu.ter]

Noun

uter n (plural utere)

1. (anatomy) uterus

Declension

Declension of uter

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	uter	uterul		utere	uterele
genitive-dative	uter	uterului		utere	uterelor
vocative	uterule			uterelor