Latter

How to spell latter

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce latter

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does latter mean?

1. adjectiveDenoting the second of two people or things already mentioned, as opposed to the former.
2. adjectiveBelonging to the closing or more recent part of a period.

Latter in a sentence

• Between tea and coffee, she always chose the latter.

• The company struggled badly in the latter half of the year.

• Of the two job offers, the latter paid considerably more.

• In his latter years he turned to painting.

Where does latter come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the Old English lætra, the comparative form of læt, meaning 'late' or 'slow', so its earliest sense was simply 'later' or 'slower'. Over the centuries the meaning narrowed: rather than describing time in general, latter came to point at the second of two things already mentioned, as opposed to the former. It belongs to the same Germanic family as 'late' and the modern comparative 'later', and the double 't' is the historical fossil that keeps it distinct from 'later', which has only one. Because both 'late' and 'latter' trace back to lætra, writers often slip and spell latter as 'later', forgetting that the older comparative kept its doubled consonant. The shift in sense, from 'occurring later' to 'the second-named of two', was well established by the 1500s.

How the word is built

• latt- (from Old English lætra, comparative of læt: late)
• -er (comparative/adjectival suffix)