uter

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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

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

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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).

Derived terms
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

Etymology

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

Noun

ūter m

  1. udder

Descendants

References

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin uterus, French utérus.

Pronunciation

Noun

uter n (plural utere)

  1. (anatomy) uterus

Declension

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