From Old English lætra, comparative form of læt (“late”). Doublet of later; also, cognate with last, whose doublet is latest.
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latter (not comparable)
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From Old Norse hlátr, from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (“laughter”), cognate with Norwegian lått, English laughter and German Gelächter. Derived from the verb *hlahjaną (“to laugh”), cf. Danish le, English laugh, German lachen.
latter c (singular definite latteren, not used in plural form)
| common gender |
Singular | |
|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | latter | latteren |
| genitive | latters | latterens |
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latter
| infinitive | simple | latter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | lattant /la.tɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | latté /la.te/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | latte /lat/ |
lattes /lat/ |
latte /lat/ |
lattons /la.tɔ̃/ |
lattez /la.te/ |
lattent /lat/ |
| imperfect | lattais /la.tɛ/ |
lattais /la.tɛ/ |
lattait /la.tɛ/ |
lattions /la.tjɔ̃/ |
lattiez /la.tje/ |
lattaient /la.tɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | lattai /la.te/ |
lattas /la.ta/ |
latta /la.ta/ |
lattâmes /la.tam/ |
lattâtes /la.tat/ |
lattèrent /la.tɛʁ/ | |
| future | latterai /la.tʁe/ |
latteras /la.tʁa/ |
lattera /la.tʁa/ |
latterons /la.tʁɔ̃/ |
latterez /la.tʁe/ |
latteront /la.tʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | latterais /la.tʁɛ/ |
latterais /la.tʁɛ/ |
latterait /la.tʁɛ/ |
latterions /la.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
latteriez /la.tə.ʁje/ |
latteraient /la.tʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | latte /lat/ |
lattes /lat/ |
latte /lat/ |
lattions /la.tjɔ̃/ |
lattiez /la.tje/ |
lattent /lat/ |
| imperfect2 | lattasse /la.tas/ |
lattasses /la.tas/ |
lattât /la.ta/ |
lattassions /la.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
lattassiez /la.ta.sje/ |
lattassent /la.tas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | latte /lat/ |
— | lattons /la.tɔ̃/ |
lattez /la.te/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris , Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
latter
latter m (definite singular latteren) (uncountable)