On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 1:44 PM, Chris Murphy <lists@colorremedies.com> wrote:

Nope, you're wrong. Find a copy of New Oxford American Dictionary and look up the words and usage. I seriously doubt even Oxford English makes such a big distinction between two words that share the same etymology and have no good reason for meaning different things.

You beat me to this. Here is the OED definition: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/5796?rskey=rEVqSp&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

The adjective forms of alternate and alternative are synonymous in both British and American English. The current usage of alternate is correct.

Zach Ploskey