English
between
Between comes from Old English betwēonum ‘between, among’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150betwēonum‘between’literally ‘by the two, near both’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500betwene
- Englishearliest quotation 1892between
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150betwēonum‘between’literally ‘by the two, near both’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500betwene
- Englishearliest quotation 1892between
Earliest quotation: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language,…”
A compound of *bi- ‘be-’ + *twīhnaz ‘two each’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- ‘to grab, snatch, get’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éps
Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi ‘on, at’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi
Proto-Germanic *bi ‘by’
Proto-Germanic *bi- ‘be-’
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’
Proto-Germanic *twīhnaz ‘two each’
The story
From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonum (“between, among”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (‘be-’) + *twīhnaz (‘two each’), corresponding to be- + twain. More distantly related to Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across, by, over”) whence English dia- (‘through, across, between’). For the meaning development also compare with Mongolian хооронд (xoorond, “between”), connected with Mongolian хоёр (xojor, “two”).
Every English word from Old English betwēonum
Today it means
prep In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English betwēonum / between