Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

versus

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Remove ads
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

Remove ads

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

Remove ads

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

Remove ads

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

Anagrams

Remove ads

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
Remove ads

Spanish

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads