alt

alt

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Southern Altai.
2. (computing) alternate key

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɔːlt/, /ɒlt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑlt/, (altitude) /ælt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːlt, -ɒlt

From Latin altus (“high”). Doublet of old and alto.

alt (uncountable)

1. (music) Of a voice or instrument, high pitch; especially, the octave above the top line of the treble stave. [from 16th c.]
   • 1762, George Colman, The Musical Lady:

     Sop[hy] Moderato! moderato! Madam. Your Ladyship's absolutely in alt. / L[ady] Scr[ape] In alt! Madam? / Sop[hy] Yes, in alt- Give me leave to tell your Ladyship, that you have raised your voice a full octave higher since you came into the room.

   • 1794, Mrs. Bennett (Agnes Maria), Ellen, Countess of Castle Howel: A Novel, volume 1:

     The duet was in alt; one stormed, the other half crying, half scolding, made up in volubility what her aunt possessed in authority, and it was not 'till Lady Meredith had twice raised her mild voice, either party could be silenced.

   • 1857, Anne Manning, Helen and Olga: a Russian tale, page 194:

     And he began, — "Poor insect! born to flutter and to die;" — falling into the second, directly Helen took the first, till he got down to such unreasonable bass that he suddenly gave a shriek in alt that made Olga stop her ears.

2. (now archaic) A state of excitement, a heightened emotional condition. [from 18th c.]
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, The History of Clarissa Harlowe: In a Series of Letters:

     I was, however, glad at my heart, that Mrs. Moore came up so seasonably with notice, that dinner was ready. The fair fugitive was all in alt. She had the game in her own hands; and by giving me so good an excuse for withdrawing, I had time to strengthen myself; the Captain had time to come; and the Lady to cool.

   • c. 1875, Charles James Lever, The Dodd Family Abroad:

     "Not," added she, as her eyes glittered with anger, and she sidled near the door for an exit—" not but, in the estimation of others, you may be quite an Adonis—a young gentleman of wit and fashion —a beau of the first water; I have no doubt Mary Jane thinks so— you old wretch!" This, in alt, and a bang of the door that brought down an oil picture that hung over it, closed the scene.

   • 1891, Douglas William Jerrold, Tales: now first collected, page 113:

     He had no wish to pry or listen; but if people would talk in alt, whilst he moved, like a mole, about his business, family matters would cleave the ear which, however it tried, could not be deaf.

   • 2011, Jo Beverley, “The Marrying Maid”, in Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love‎^[1], page 50:

     That lady was in alt at Loxsleigh's high station and had spent the morning making inquiries of her friends, which also allowed her to spread the word about her interesting new acquaintance.

Abbreviations.

alt (not comparable)

1. Clipping of alternate.

   alt key

   • 2021, Rhian Jones, Lucy Heyman, Sound Advice: The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy and Successful Career in Music‎^[2], Shoreditch Press, →ISBN:

     […] Adele, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Frank Ocean, Drake, and Ed Sheeran are among many artists who don't appear to spend a lot of time online (or if they do, it's using alt accounts).

2. Clipping of alternative, especially as a cultural phenomenon seen as being outside the mainstream of its genre.

   Synonym: alt- (prefix)

   alt medicine

   alt text

   • 2023 March 5, Miranda Sawyer, “Sleaford Mods: ‘The UK is like a crazy golf course – all we’ve got left are landmarks’”, in The Guardian‎^[3], →ISSN:

     Fearn is thoughtful and deeply alt (“I’ve always been an oddball”), less demonstrative but more confident.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:alt.

alt (plural alts)

1. Clipping of altitude.
2. (Internet slang, gaming) An alternate or secondary character.
   • 1996, Jonobie D. Baker, “Survey of MUSHers.”, in rec.games.mud.tiny (Usenet):

     Of these alts, how many of them are a gender other than your own?

   • 2000, KaVir, “Code Bases - why release buggy crap?”, in alt.mud (Usenet):

     Yes, I have many alts, and no, none of the others have any unusual capitalisation.

3. (Internet slang) An alternate account.

   Hyponym: sock puppet

   You've been here four days and you already know about the incident from last year? You're such an obvious alt.

4. (finance) An alternative investment or alternative fund.

   liquid alts

From German Alt.

alt (plural alts)

1. Synonym of altbier.
   • 1999, Brian Glover, The Complete Guide to Beer, Barnes & Noble, →ISBN, page 146:

     Top-fermenting ales are still brewed, notably the alts of Düsseldorf and kölsches of Cologne.

   • 2000, Ray Daniels, Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles, Brewers Publications:

     On average, the mash temperatures used in the NHC second-round alts and kölschs were higher, at 153 °F (67 °C) and 151 °F (66 °C) respectively.

   • 2015, Mark Dredge, The Best Beer in the World: One Man’s Globe Search for the Perfect Pint, Dog ‘n’ Bone Books, →ISBN:

     In the last two days I have drunk 10 different beers in each city and feel the Kölsches were within a narrower flavor profile, being relatively similar to each other, whereas Alts had more range of aroma and flavor.

   • 2016, Tim Hampson, The 50 Greatest Beers of the World, Icon Books:

     Ale yeasts are often described as top fermenting, but top cropping would probably be a better description: the yeast ferments at all levels throughout the liquid, but once its work is done it collects at the top of the fermenting vessel (traditionally these vessels would have been open at the top). Family members include bitters, porters, stouts, alts and kölschs.

• ATL, Atl., LAT, LTA, Lat., TLA, Tal, lat, lat.

• altu

From Latin alter, alterum. Compare Romanian alt.

alt m (f alte, m plural alts, f plural alti)

1. other

• IPA^(key): [ɑɫt]

• Audio:

  (file)

alt (definite accusative altı, plural altlar)

1. lower part
2. bottom

• altında (“under”)

alt (comparative daha alt, superlative ən alt)

1. lower

   Antonym: üst

Inherited from Latin altus.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈalt]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alt

alt (feminine alta, masculine plural alts, feminine plural altes)

1. high

   Antonym: baix

2. tall

   Antonym: baix

• alçar
• altitud

• “alt”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “alt”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “alt” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “alt” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

• aod, auw (Kirchröadsj)
• oot (westernmost Ripuarian)

From Middle High German alt, fromOld High German ald, northern variant of alt. The variation between the stems alt and aal is due to the development -ald- → -āl-, which occurred only in open syllables.

• IPA^(key): /alt/

alt (masculine aale, feminine aal, comparative aaler or ääler or älder, superlative aalste or äälste or ältste)

1. (most dialects) old

   Von aale Löck ka’ mer noch jet liehre. ― There’s something to be learnt from old people.

   Dat aal Huus möt mer ens renoviere. ― That old house should be renovated sometime.

• The commoner comparation forms were originally aaler, et aalste. Today, those with umlaut are preferred due to influence of German älter, am ältesten.

• Eldere

From Middle High German alt, from Old High German alt, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz. Cognate with German alt, Dutch oud, English old, Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (alþeis).

alt (comparative éltor, superlative dar éltorste)

1. (most dialects) old, elderly

   an alta brau ― an elderly lady

   an altar mann ― an old man

   an altes baip ― an elderly wife

   an altes ménle ― a little old man

   alte lòite ― elderly people

   De belt ist alt. ― The world is old.

• altekhot

• galtar

• “alt” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

From Proto-Germanic *aldaz.

alt

1. old
   • 1562, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Legationis Turcicae Epistolae Quatuor:

     Alt. Senex.

     Old. Old.

• IPA^(key): [ˈalt]

alt m inan

1. alto

alt

1. neuter singular of al

alt

1. gold

Borrowed from German Alt, ultimately from Latin altus. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

• IPA^(key): /ɑlt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: alt
• Rhymes: -ɑlt

alt m (plural alten, diminutive altje n)

1. alto (musical part)
2. alto (person or instrument)

alt f (plural alten, diminutive altje n)

1. a woman singing or playing the alto part

The word alt is feminine when it's used to indicate a woman singing or playing the alto part.

• lat, tal

From Old Norse allr.

• IPA^(key): [al̥t]

alt n (masculine allur, feminine øll)

1. all

alt

1. all

From Latin altus.

alt

1. high

   Antonym: bas

• alçâ
• altece

alt m (plural alts)

1. top, summit

From Middle High German alt, from Old High German alt, from Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz, from Proto-Indo-European *altós, *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“grow, nourish”). Compare Dutch oud, Low German old, West Frisian âld, English old. Doublet of Alt, a loanword from Italian.

• IPA^(key): /alt/, [ʔalt], /ɑlt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

alt (strong nominative masculine singular alter, comparative älter, superlative am ältesten)

1. old

   Wie alt bist du? ― How old are you?

2. ancient
3. elderly (inflected in the comparative)

   ältere Menschen ― the elderly

• jung

• “alt” in Duden online
• “alt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “alt” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒlt]
• Rhymes: -ɒlt

alt (countable and uncountable, plural altok)

1. contralto (female singer or voice)

   Coordinate terms: mezzoszoprán, szoprán

2. alto (vocal section)

   Coordinate terms: szoprán, tenor, basszus

• alt in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• alt in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

From Proto-Finnic *alta. Cognates include Finnish alta.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈɑltɑ/, [ˈɑɫt]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlt/, [ˈɑɫd̥]
• (Hevaha) IPA^(key): /ˈɑlt/, [ˈɑɫd̥]
• Rhymes: -ɑlt
• Hyphenation: alt

alt

1. (of motion) from underneath

alt (+ genitive)

1. (of motion) from under
   • 1936, V. I. Junus, Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎^[4], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 136:

     Kissa tuli aitan alt.

     The cat came from under the storehouse.

• päält (“off”)

• V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎^[5], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 136
• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 11
• Arvo Laanest (1997) Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 19
• Olga I. Konkova, Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку‎^[6], →ISBN, page 14

• (Etymologies 1 and 3): allt (obsolete)^[1]

• IPA^(key): /al̪ˠt̪ˠ/^[2]

From Old Irish alt (“joint, articulation”), from Proto-Celtic *ɸaltu- (“joint”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”).^[3] Cognate with Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌰𐌽 (falþan, “to fold”) and Ancient Greek πέπλος (péplos, “woven cloth”). The sense ‘article’ is a semantic loan from Latin articulus, itself a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ἄρθρον (árthron).

alt m (genitive singular ailt, nominative plural ailt)

1. (carpentry) joint; juncture
2. (anatomy) joint, knuckle
   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect], volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 8:

     tā alt m aurdōǵ ĺūntə.

     [Tá alt m’ordóige leonta.]

     The joint/knuckle of my thumb is sprained.

3. knot (in wood)

   Synonyms: cranra, dual

4. hillock
5. bit (of land, tobacco, etc.)
6. stumpy person
7. paragraph; section (of act, etc.)
8. (grammar, parts of speech, publishing) article; clause

alt (present analytic altann, future analytic altfaidh, verbal noun altadh, past participle alta)

1. (transitive) articulate, joint

Borrowed from Italian alto.

alt m (genitive singular ailt, nominative plural ailt)

1. (music) alto

• altach

alt f (genitive singular ailte, nominative plural altanna)^[4]

1. alternative form of ailt (“steep-sided glen; ravine”)

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “alt”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 24
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “alt”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “alt”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “alt”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

Borrowed from German halt.

• IPA^(key): /ˈalt/
• Rhymes: -alt
• Hyphenation: àlt

• Audio:

  (file)

alt

1. stop!

From Proto-Turkic *ăl.

• (Kharrab) IPA^(key): [a(ː)lt]

alt (definite accusative altı, plural altlar)

1. under, bottom
2. underside

   Synonyms: asra, ast

• Doerfer, Gerhard (1980) Wörterbuch des Chaladsch (Dialekt von Charrab) [Khalaj dictionary] (in German), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó

Akin to Italian alto, from Latin altus.

alt

1. high

• IPA^(key): [ɑlt]

alt

1. sometimes

From Turkish alt (“bottom; under”).

• IPA^(key): /ɑːltʰ/, /ɑːlt/

alt ? (Arabic spelling ئالت)

1. only used in alt bûn (“to be beaten, defeated”)
2. only used in alt kirin (“to beat, defeat, subdue”)

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “alt’”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume 1, London: Transnational Press, page 7

From Latin altus, via Italian alto; compare with German Alt.

alt m (definite singular alten, indefinite plural alter, definite plural altene)

1. (music) alto; contralto

alt

1. neuter singular of all

alt

1. everything, all, anything

   alt kan skje ― anything can happen

• altetende
• fremfor alt, framfor alt

• “alt” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /ɑlt/
• (neuter singular of all): IPA^(key): /ɑɬc/ (Trøndelag dialect. Eye dialect spelling as ailltj or ailtj)

alt

1. already

From Latin altus, via Italian alto; compare with German Alt.

alt m (definite singular alten, indefinite plural altar, definite plural altane)

1. (music) alto; contralto

Inherited from Old Norse allt. Compare to Swedish allt

alt

1. neuter singular of all

alt

1. everything, all, anything

   alt kan skje ― anything can happen

• “alt” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-Germanic *aldaz (“grown-up”), from Proto-Indo-European *altós, *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“grow, nourish”).

1=eldiro
3=eldist
2=eldiro
4=eldist

alt

1. old

• Middle Dutch: out
  • Dutch: oud, (obsolete) oudt
    • Afrikaans: ou, oud
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: hau
    • Jersey Dutch: āud, āut
    • Negerhollands: oud, ouw, houw, hou
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: ou, oud
    • West Flemish: elde
  • Limburgish: aad

• “alt”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

• ald — northern

From Proto-West Germanic *ald, from Proto-Germanic *aldaz, whence also Old English ald. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *altós, *h₂eltós, from *h₂el- (“grow, nourish”). Compare Old Frisian and Old Saxon ald, Old English eald, ald and Old Dutch alt.

• IPA^(key): /alt/

alt

1. old

   miti thên altôn ― with the elders

• Middle High German: alt
  • Alemannic German: altu, oalt, oalt, olt, àltà (Italian Walser)
  • Bavarian: old

    Apeltonerisch: old

    Central Bavarian: oid /ɔed̥/

    Cimbrian: alt

    Mòcheno: òlt

    Northern Bavarian: old /ɔːld̥/

    Southern Bavarian: ålt /ɔltʰ/

    Udinese: olt, òlt

  • Central Franconian: alt

    Hunsrik: alt

    Kirchröadsj: aod, auw

    Luxembourgish: al

  • German: alt
  • Rhine Franconian: alt, all

    Frankfurterisch: [ɑːl], [aːl]

    Pennsylvania German: alt

  • Vilamovian: aołd
  • Yiddish: אַלט (alt)

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

·alt

1. third-person singular preterite active conjunct of ailid
2. singular preterite passive conjunct of ailid

From Middle High German and Old High German alt. Compare German alt, Dutch oud, English old.

alt (comparative elder, superlative eltscht)

1. old

• IPA^(key): /ˈalt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alt
• Syllabification: alt

Internationalism; compare English alto. Possibly borrowed from German Alt or Italian alto.^[1][2] First attested in 1586.^[3]

alt m inan

1. alto (singing voice range) [from 16th c.]^[3]

   matowy alt ― smoky alto

   głęboki alt ― deep alto

   ciepły alt ― warm alto

   ostry alt ― striking alto

   niski alt ― low alto

   śpiewać altem ― to sing in an alto

2. alto (instrument within the alto range) [from 20th c.]
3. (obsolete) portion or section of a song sung in an alto [17th–20th c]^[4][5]
4. (hunting, obsolete) middle-pitched voice of a hunting dog (instrument within the alto range) [17th–19th c]^[6]

alt m pers

1. alto (person with an alto voice) [from 20th c.]^[5]

   Synonyms: alcista, altysta

Borrowed from English alt, as found on keyboards. First attested in the late 20th century.

alt m inan

1. (technology) alt, alt key

   lewy alt ― left alt key

   prawy alt ― right alt key

   naciskać/nacisnąć/wciskać/wcisnąć alt ― to press the alt key

Learned borrowing from Latin altum.^[4] First attested in 1652.^[4]

alt m inan

1. (Middle Polish) enthusiasm, gusto^[4]

• alt in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• alt in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “alt”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “alt”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *altru, from Latin alter, alterum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élteros.

• IPA^(key): /ˈalt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alt

alt m or n (feminine singular altă, masculine plural alți, feminine and neuter plural alte)

1. other, another

Alt can only be preposited and unarticulated. Instead of an articulated form, celălalt (“the other”) exists.

Altul (“another one”) superficially resembles the articulated adjective form, but is actually a self-standing pronoun.

The genitive and dative forms can also be formed like those of a regular adjective, using forms of un: unui alt, unei alte, unor alți, unor alte.

• “alt”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

From Old Irish alt (“joint, articulation”), from Proto-Celtic *ɸaltom (“joint”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐌰𐌽 (falþan, “to fold”) and Ancient Greek πέπλος (péplos, “woven cloth”).

alt m (genitive singular uilt, plural altan)

1. joint
2. (grammar) article

• alt-aiseig (“linkspan”)
• alt cinnteach
• alt neo-chinnteach

Borrowed from Italian alto (canto) (literally “high song”).

alt m inan (Cyrillic spelling алт)

1. (music) an alto

• altovi

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish آلت (alt).

• IPA^(key): /ɑɫt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: alt

alt (definite accusative altı, plural altlar)

1. bottom
2. under

• üst

• altında

• olt
• out (Hopgarten)

From Middle High German and Old High German alt.

alt

1. old