uter

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

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu.ter/, [ˈʊt̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈu.ter/, [ˈuːt̪er]

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).

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	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

• alteruter
• neuter
• uterque
• utrubi

Related terms

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utique	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu.ter/, [ˈʊt̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈu.ter/, [ˈuːt̪er]

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).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	uter	utrēs utria
Genitive	utris	utrium
Dative	utrī	utribus
Accusative	utrem	utrīs utrēs utria
Ablative	utre	utribus
Vocative	uter	utrēs

Derived terms

• utriculus

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

• ūtar, ūtaro, ūtiro

Etymology

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

Noun

ūter n

1. udder

Descendants

• Middle High German: ūter, iuter
  • Cimbrian: autar
  • German: Euter
  • Luxembourgish: Auder

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin uterus, French utérus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈu.ter]

Noun

uter n (plural utere)

1. (anatomy) uterus

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) uter	uterul	(niște) utere	uterele
genitive/dative	(unui) uter	uterului	(unor) utere	uterelor
vocative	uterule		uterelor

Declension of uter