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versus

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Versus, vérsus, verŝus, and vēršus

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

Preposition

versus

  1. Against; in opposition to.
    Synonyms: vs, vs., (abbreviations) v
    It is the Packers versus the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
  2. Compared with, as opposed to.
    • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times‎:
      In polling by the Pew Research Center in November 2008, fully half the respondents thought the two parties would cooperate more in the coming year, versus only 36 percent who thought the climate would grow more adversarial.
    • 2005, Robert E. Weiss, Modeling Longitudinal Data, Springer, →ISBN, page 104:
      If, for example, we select random people entering a workout gym, versus if we pick random people entering a hospital, we will get very different samples.
  3. (law) Bringing a legal action against, as used in the title of a court case in which the first party indicates the plaintiff (or appellant or the like), and the second indicates the defendant (or respondent or the like).
    Synonyms: v, (abbreviation) v.
    Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.
  4. Interacting with, especially to record reactions
  5. (music) Mashed up with.
    Kiss Me Thru The Phone vs. Last Friday Night
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

Verb

versus (third-person singular simple present versuses, present participle versusing, simple past and past participle versused)

(colloquial)

  1. To face in competition
  2. To fight

Further reading

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Finnish

Etymology

Latin versus

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋersus/, [ˈʋe̞rs̠us̠]
  • Rhymes: -ersus
  • Syllabification(key): ver‧sus
  • Hyphenation(key): ver‧sus

Preposition

versus [with nominative]

  1. versus
    Synonym: vastaan

Further reading

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French

Etymology

From Latin versus. Doublet of vers.

Pronunciation

Preposition

versus

  1. versus, full form of vs

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism, from Latin versus. Doublet of verso.

Pronunciation

Particle

versus

  1. versus: against; in opposition to.

Further reading

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin versus. Doublet of verso, which is inherited.

Preposition

versus

  1. versus

Latin

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

    From earlier vorsus, from Proto-Italic *worssos, perfect passive participle of vertō (“to turn”).

    Alternative forms

    • vorsus

    Participle

    versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

    1. turned, changed, having been turned
    Declension

    First/second-declension adjective.

    More information singular, plural ...
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

    Adverbial use of versus (“turned”).

    Alternative forms

    Adverb

    versus (not comparable)

      1. towards, turned to or in the direction of, facing
      Derived terms
      Descendants
      • Catalan: bes, ves, vers
      • Corsican: versu
      • French: vers
      • Italian: verso
      • Occitan: ves
      • Old Galician-Portuguese: vesso
      • Old Spanish: vieso
      • Sicilian: versu
      • → English: versus, verso
      • → French: versus
      • → Italian: versus
      • → Portuguese: versus
      • → Sicilian: versus

      Etymology 3

      Action noun from vertō + -tus.

      Alternative forms

      • vorsus

      Noun

      versus m (genitive versūs); fourth declension

      1. a furrow (turned earth)
      2. (transf.) a line, row
        2. (partic.) a line of writing, a verse
      3. a land measure (= πλέθρον (pléthron))
        • 1st century BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum rusticarum libri III (Agricultural Topics in Three Books). Liber I, X:
          Ille, Modos, quibus metirentur rura, alius alios constituit. Nam in Hispania ulteriore metiuntur iugis, in Campania versibus, apud nos in agro Romano ac Latino iugeris. Iugum vocant, quod iuncti boves uno die exarare possint.
          Each country has its own method of measuring land. Thus in farther Spain the unit of measure is the iugum, in Campania the versus, with us here in the district of Rome and in Latium the iugerum. The iugum is the amount of land which a yoke of oxen can plough in a day; the versus is an area 100 feet square; 2 the iugerum an area containing two square actus.
      4. (dance) a turn, step
      Declension

      Fourth-declension noun.

      More information singular, plural ...
      Derived terms
      Descendants

      Etymology 4

      Perfect passive participle of verrō (“to sweep”).

      Participle

      versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

      1. swept
      Declension

      First/second-declension adjective.

      More information singular, plural ...

      References

      • “versus, -a, -um”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus, -a, -um”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “versus (adv. and prep.)”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus (adv. and prep.)”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “versus, -ūs”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “versus, -ūs”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • "versus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
      • “versus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
      • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
        • to sing the praises of some one (not canere aliquem: alicuius laudes versibus persequi
        • to celebrate some one's exploits in song: alicuius res gestas versibus ornare, celebrare
        • (ambiguous) in all directions: quoquo versus; in omnes partes
        • (ambiguous) to advance in the direction of Rome: Romam versus proficisci
        • (ambiguous) to write poetry: versus facere, scribere
        • (ambiguous) to write poetry with facility: carmina , versus fundere (De Or. 3. 50)
        • (ambiguous) to recite a poem, line with appropriate action: carmen, versum agere
      • Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911), “vĕrsus”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 705

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      Polish

      Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia pl

      Etymology

      Unadapted borrowing from Latin versus.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈvɛr.sus/
      • Rhymes: -ɛrsus
      • Syllabification: ver‧sus

      Preposition

      versus

      1. versus (in opposition to)
        Synonym: kontra

      Further reading

      • versus in Polish dictionaries at PWN

      Portuguese

      Pronunciation

       
       

      • Hyphenation: ver‧sus

      Preposition

      versus

      1. alternative spelling of vérsus

      Further reading

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      Spanish

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