the.com/alternate
the polite way to say 'not the main one, but don't tell it that.'
means to switch back and forth between two or more things, or to serve as a backup for something else.
from from latin alternare, 'to do by turns,' rooted in alter, meaning 'the other one' — the same ancestor that gave us 'alter ego' and 'altercation.'
grammar trapnoun/adjective stress FIRST syllable, verb stress differs
math cousinalternate angles equal, alternating series converge conditionally
british vs americanbrits use 'alternative,' americans often say 'alternate' instead