Al-tĕr'na-tīve1, a.
a. [Fr. alternatif.]
- Offering a choice of two things.
- Alternate; reciprocal. [Obs.] “An alternative motion.” Holland.
2 entries under this word
Alternative
Al-têr'na-tive2, n.
n. [L. Lat. alternativa, Fr. alternative.] That which may be chosen or omitted; a choice between two things, so that if one is taken, the other must be left. Thus, when two things offer a choice of one only, the two things are called alternatives.
There is something else than the mere alternative of absolute destruction or unreformed existence. Burke.
Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. Cranch.
☞ In strictness, the word can not be applied to more than two things, and when one thing only is offered for choice, it is said there is no alternative.