Word of the Day

: May 12, 2009

ulterior

adjective ul-TEER-ee-er

What It Means

1 a : further, future

b : more distant : remoter

c : situated on the farther side : thither

2 : going beyond what is openly said or shown and especially what is proper

ulterior in Context

"The poet, by an ulterior intellectual perception, gives [symbols] a power which makes their old use forgotten, and puts eyes, and a tongue, into every dumb and inanimate object." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series)

Did You Know?

Although now usually hitched to the front of the noun "motive" to refer to a hidden need or desire that inspires action, "ulterior" began its career as an adjective in the mid-17th century describing something occurring at a subsequent time. By the early 18th century it was being used to mean both "more distant" (literally and figuratively) and "situated on the farther side." The "hidden" sense with which we're most familiar today followed quickly after those, with the word modifying nouns like "purpose," "design," and "consequence." "Ulterior" comes directly from the Latin word for "farther" or "further," itself assumed to be the comparative form of "ulter," meaning "situated beyond."