Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AL'TER, v.t. [Fr. alterer; Sp. alterar; It. alterare; from L. alter, another. See Alien. Alter is supposed to be a contraction of αλλοτερῤος, alienus, of αλλος and ετερος.]

1. To make some change in; to make different in some particular; to vary in some degree, without an entire change. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. – Ps. lxxxix.
2. To change entirely or materially; as, to alter an opinion. In general, to alter is to change partially; to change is more generally to substitute one thing for another, or to make a material difference in a thing.