English
both
Both comes from Middle English bothe ‘both’, and goes back to Old English bā þā.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bā þā‘both the’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bothe‘both’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598both
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bā þā‘both the’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bothe‘both’
- Englishearliest quotation 1598both
Earliest quotation: 1598, Philip Sidney, The countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia: “[…] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and…”
The story
From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (‘both the; both those’) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen.
Linked words
through Middle English bothe
Today it means
det Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English bā þā / both