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English
Etymology
From Latin alter ego (literally “other self”).
Pronunciation
Noun
alter ego (plural alter egos)
- (psychology, psychiatry) An individual's alternate personality or persona; another self.
1897, Mary H. Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, page 538:[…] a belief in the possibility of a man possessing an alter ego in the form of some animal such as a crocodile or a hippopotamus. It is believed that such a person's life is bound up with that of the animal to such an extent that, whatever affects the one produces a corresponding impression upon the other, and that if one dies the other must speedily do so too.
1938, Robert Berkov, “China's Chiang”, in Strong Man of China: The Story of Chiang Kai-shek, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 1:As one commentator has remarked, all the confusing old three-syllable names that used to index Chinese politics can now be forgotten — the names and their bearers have ceased to be of the slightest importance. In their place stands one man — a small, frail, volatile but tremendously energetic man — who oddly enough has become the alter ego of that powerful, sprawling, sleepy giant that is China.
2012 May 1, Ben Child, “Mark Ruffalo gets green light to play Hulk in six-movie deal”, in the Guardian:Ruffalo's turn as Bruce Banner and his angry green alter-ego has been widely praised. Avengers Assemble (titled The Avengers outside the UK) is on course to be one of the year's biggest films and has received strong reviews.
- A very close and intimate friend.
1974 April 13, “Sex Isn't Everything! (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, page 10:GWM, 5'10", 175, 40, non-smoker, MCC-er. Good build. Int. in classical music, books, travel. Seeks alter ego with own peace for honest relationship.
- (law) A corporation used by a person to conduct personal business in an attempt to shield himself or herself from personal liability, and which a court may penetrate by "piercing the corporate veil" to impose liability on the person when they commit fraud or injustice.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- alteregoism
- alter (“one identity of a person with dissociative identity disorder”, noun)
Related terms
Translations
alternate personality or persona
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 另一個我/另一个我 (lìngyīgè wǒ), 分身 (zh) (fenshen)
- Finnish: alter ego (fi), toinen minä
- French: alter ego (fr) m, un autre moi-même m
- German: Alter Ego (de) n, anderes Ich n
- Hungarian: alteregó (hu)
- Icelandic: annað sjálf n
- Japanese: アルター・エゴ (arutā-ego), 分身 (ja) (ぶんしん, bunshin)
- Korean: 분신 (ko) (bunsin), 다른 자아 (dareun jaa)
- Latin: alter ego m
- Norwegian: alter ego n
- Polish: alter ego (pl), drugie ja
- Portuguese: alter ego (pt), outro eu (pt)
- Russian: а́льтер э́го (ru) n (álʹtɛr égo), друго́е я n (drugóje ja)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: алтер его, друго ја n
- Roman: alter ego (sh), drugo ja n
- Spanish: alter ego (es) m, otro yo m
- Swedish: alter ego (sv) n
- Tagalog: haliako
|
very close and intimate friend
See also
References
Finnish
Etymology
From Latin alter ego.
Noun
alter ego
- alter ego (somebody's alternate personality or persona)
Declension
Synonyms
Further reading
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Noun
alter ego m (plural alter egos)
- alter ego (alternate personality or persona)
- Synonym: outro eu
Related terms
Spanish
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin alter ego (“other self”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /alˌteɾ ˈeɡo/
- Syllabification: al‧ter e‧go
Noun
alter ego m (plural alter egos)
- alter ego (alternate personality or persona)
- Synonym: otro yo
Further reading