Alternatives

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Choices or options that serve as replacements for a particular selection
2. Selections or possibilities that can be used in lieu of a specific item or decision
3. Different options available to replace an original choice ; various possibilities that can be picked instead of a main option

Etymology: The word "alternatives" is simply the plural of "alternative," and the noun's ancestry runs back to a Latin verb meaning "to interchange." That verb, "alternō," was built from "alter," meaning "the other (of two)," which also gave English words like "altercation" and "alter." Latin then produced "alternātīvus," meaning "alternating," which passed into Medieval Latin and then into Middle French as "alternatif." English borrowed the word from French, and it originally carried the sense of alternating or taking turns rather than the modern idea of a choice between options. The shift toward "one of several things you may select" developed as the word came to describe a pair or set of possibilities, where accepting one meant giving up the other. The core idea of "the other one of two" remains visible in its history.

Synonyms: options, choices, substitutes, variations, replacements