Thread: Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?
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Old 12-14-2018, 06:58 PM   #27802
gmw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
Note:

"Alternate" means "first one, then the other".
"Alternative" means "one of a set of possibilities".

It is thus "alternative history", not "alternate history".
OED offers (under heading "B n. [the adj. used absol.] "): One who is appointed to act in place of a delegate who is unable to be present; a substitute. U.S.

ETA Almost missed it, OED also offers under the A heading: 8 = alternative a. 3. U.S. (goes to "the other (of two)").

Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster bother offer: constituting an alternative (eg: "took the alternate route home")


So it seems that in America, at least, "alternate history" might be deemed acceptable.
Last edited by gmw; 12-14-2018 at 07:06 PM.
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