versus

English Online Dictionary. What means versus‎? What does versus mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvɜːsəs/, /ˈvɜːsɪz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvɝsəs/, /ˈvɝsəz/, /ˈvɝs/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)səs
• Homophone: verses

Preposition

versus

1. Against; in opposition to.

   Synonyms: vs, vs., (abbreviations) v

2. Compared with, as opposed to.
3. (law) Bringing a legal action against, as used in the title of a court case in which the first party indicates the plaintiff (or appellant or the like), and the second indicates the defendant (or respondent or the like).

   Synonyms: v, (abbreviation) v.

4. Interacting with, especially to record reactions
5. (music) Mashed up with.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvɝs/
• Homophone: verse

Verb

versus (third-person singular simple present versuses, present participle versusing, simple past and past participle versused)

(colloquial)

1. To face in competition
2. To fight

Further reading

• versus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Finnish

Etymology

Latin versus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋersus/, [ˈʋe̞rs̠us̠]
• Rhymes: -ersus
• Hyphenation^(key): ver‧sus

Preposition

versus [with nominative]

1. versus

   Synonym: vastaan

Further reading

• “versus”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-04

French

Etymology

From Latin versus. Doublet of vers.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛʁ.sys/
• Rhymes: -ys

Preposition

versus

1. versus, full form of vs

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin versus. Doublet of verso, which is inherited.

Preposition

versus

1. versus

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯er.sus/, [ˈu̯ɛrs̠ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈver.sus/, [ˈvɛrsus]

Etymology 1

From earlier vorsus, from Proto-Italic *worssos, perfect passive participle of vertō (“to turn”).

Alternative forms

• vorsus

Participle

versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

1. turned, changed, having been turned

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Derived terms

• anniversārius
• contrōversus
• prōrsus/ prōsus/ prōsa
• ūniversus

Etymology 2

Adverbial use of versus (“turned”).

Alternative forms

• versum
• vorsum
• vorsus

Adverb

versus (not comparable)

1. towards, turned to or in the direction of, facing

Derived terms

Descendants

Etymology 3

Action noun from vertō + -tus.

Alternative forms

• vorsus

Noun

versus m (genitive versūs); fourth declension

1. a furrow (turned earth)
2. (transf.) a line, row
   2. (partic.) a line of writing, a verse
3. a land measure (= πλέθρον (pléthron))
4. (dance) a turn, step

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Derived terms

• versiculus
• versificō

Descendants

Etymology 4

Perfect passive participle of verrō (“to sweep”).

Participle

versus (feminine versa, neuter versum); first/second-declension participle

1. swept

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

References

• “versus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “versus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• versus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• versus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
• Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “vĕrsus”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 705

Anagrams

• servus

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin versus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛr.sus/
• Rhymes: -ɛrsus
• Syllabification: ver‧sus

Preposition

versus

1. versus (in opposition to)

   Synonym: kontra

Further reading

• versus in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ver‧sus

Preposition

versus

1. Alternative spelling of vérsus

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English versus, from Latin versus. Doublet of verso.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeɾsus/ [ˈbeɾ.sus]
• Rhymes: -eɾsus
• Syllabification: ver‧sus

Preposition

versus

1. versus

Usage notes

• This word is sometimes frowned upon as an anglicism, with the suggestion that contra or the conjunction y should be used instead.

References

Further reading

• “versus”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10