Better

Part of speech: adjective, adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈbɛt.ə/

Definitions

1. Of higher quality or more desirable compared to another; to improve or make more effective; a person or thing that surpasses another in ability or quality
2. Superior in condition, value, or performance relative to something else; to enhance or advance in condition or status; someone or something that excels or outperforms a competitor
3. Exhibiting greater excellence or worth than another; to raise the standard or surpass a previous state; an individual or entity that is more skilled or preferable compared to others

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "better" is that its ancestry is tangled up with a whole family of words about goodness and advantage, yet it is not related to the Persian word that looks just like it. Old English "betera" came from a Proto-Germanic form "batizô," which traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root "bʰed-," meaning "good." The same root gives Sanskrit "bhadrá," meaning "blessed" or "fortunate," and the Old English word "betera" also sits alongside a verb "beterian" meaning "to improve," which passed into Middle English as "beteren." Modern English keeps the old link in a different way: "better" is cognate with "best," and with the English word "battle," which once carried a sense of improving or being fruitful. The most striking detail is a false friend. Persian "behtar" looks almost identical and means "better," but it is not a cognate of English "better." The resemblance is pure coincidence, a reminder that similar sounds across languages do not always mean shared descent.

Synonyms: improved, superior, enhanced, finer, greater

Antonyms: worse, inferior, poorer, lesser, diminished