latter
/ˈlætə(r)/adjective
attrib.
1
- situated or occurring nearer to the end of something than to the beginning后半部分的：
the latter half of 1989.
1989年下半年。
1.1
- belonging to the final stages of something, especially of a person's life（尤指人的生命）最后阶段的：
heart disease dogged his latter years.
在他生命的最后几年中, 心脏病让他吃了不少苦。
1.2
- recent最近的：
the project has had low cash flows in latter years.
近年来这个项目现金周转不灵。
2
the latter
denoting the second or second mentioned of two people or things（两者中的）后者, 第二个：the Russians could advance into either Germany or Austria - they chose the latter option
俄国人可以攻入德国或奥地利——他们选择了后者
as noun the President appoints the Prime Minister and, on the latter's advice, the rest of the government.总统任命总理, 并根据后者提议任命其余政府官员。
USAGE
It is not considered good writing style to use latter to refer to more than two things. For an explanation， see usage at FORMER1 .
词源
Old English lætra 'slower'， comparative of læt （see LATE）.