Alternate or alternative

From WhyNotWiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Usage_and_spelling

Use an unambiguous word or phrase in preference to an ambiguous one. For example, use "other meaning" rather than "alternate meaning" or "alternative meaning", since "alternate" means only "alternating" to a British-English speaker, and "alternative" suggests "nontraditional" or "out-of-the-mainstream" to an American-English speaker.