oðer

oþer is the Old English adjective and pronoun meaning “the other,” “the second,” or “another,” used to distinguish one entity from another. It appears in various Old English texts to modify nouns or to stand as a substantive, as in phrases equivalent to “the other man” or “the other one.” The term could express both a determiner sense (modifying a noun) and a pronoun sense (standing alone).

Etymology and cognates: oþer derives from the Germanic family of languages, with clear cognates in other West Germanic languages such as Dutch ander and German anderer/ander. The form reflects the characteristic Old English spelling with thorn (þ) representing the voiceless or voiced dental fricative, depending on position. The word’s core meaning across Germanic languages is typically “the other” or “the second,” and its usage parallels similar pairs like “the one and the other.”

Usage and development: In Old English, oþer was common in both descriptive and substantive roles and could appear in both singular and plural constructions, often paired with another determiner such as se/oþer (the other). With the transition from Old to Middle English, the character þ was gradually replaced by th in most texts, and the spelling of the word settled into the modern form other. The semantic range narrowed slightly over time, but the essential sense—distinguishing one item or person from another—remains intact in Modern English.

See also: other, thorn (þ), Old English language, Germanic languages.