and

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English and, inherited from Old English and, also ond and end,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *andi;^[1][5] Etymonline and Barnhart give the Proto-Germanic form as *unda.^[2][3] It is cognate with Old Frisian anda, Old Saxon endi, Old High German enti and unti, German und, Middle Dutch ende, Dutch en and Old Norse enn (“and, but”).^[2][3][6][4] The OED explains the variation between forms with a, e or i and forms with u as old ablaut variants rather than weakening in unstressed position.^[6] The further origin is uncertain and disputed:^[6] Ayto finds no convincing ancestor outside Germanic.^[7] Many scholars, following the first edition of the OED (1884), take it to have been an adverb or preposition of place expressing juxtaposition or opposition, and compare Ancient Greek ἀντί (antí, “over against”) and Latin ante (“before”), but the OED doubts that these are true cognates.^[6][8][9] Etymonline derives it from Proto-Indo-European *en (“in”),^[2][10] and Merriam-Webster compares Tocharian B entwe (“then, therefore”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Joining words, phrases and clauses, already in Cædmon's Hymn, dated about 700 by Barnhart.^[3][6] Etymonline gives "thereupon, next" as its original meaning.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old English already used it to begin a sentence that follows on from what went before,^[2] to join units to tens (one and twenty), and to express repetition, as in two and two.^[6] In Old English it also came to mean "if";^[11] in this sense it was later usually reduced to an or an' and often strengthened by if, as in an it please you and the Bible's "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart" (Matthew 24:48).^[11][8][9] Linking two adjectives, the first acting as an adverb (nice and warm), is recorded from before 1475,^[6] and in Yorkshire dialect fine and pleased meant "exceedingly pleased".^[12] Its use for "plus" in arithmetic dates from 1695,^[6] while and/or is first found in a law report of 1855.^[6] The noun, as in ifs and ands, is recorded from about 1535.^[4] The exclamation and how dates from the early 1900s.^[2] In computing and logic, AND has named an operator since 1946,^[4] and the verb and, to combine signals or search terms with it, since 1961.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 700 – conjunction, joining words and clauses, in Cædmon's Hymn.^[3][6]
• Old English – joining units to tens; expressing repetition.^[6]
• Old English – if (later usually spelled an).^[11]
• before 1475 – linking two adjectives, the first used like an adverb.^[6]
• c. 1535 – noun, in ifs and ands.^[4]
• 1695 – plus, in adding numbers.^[6]
• 1855 – and/or.^[6]
• early 1900s – and how!^[2]
• 1946 – noun, a logical operator in computing.^[4]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. Together with, as well as; joining words, phrases or clauses of equal rank: salt and pepper.^[13][4]
2. Added to; plus: Three and four make seven.^[13][4]
3. Then, afterwards, or as a result: He slipped and broke his wrist.^[13][4]
4. Between repeated words, showing continuation or intensity: The wind blew and blew.^[13][4]
5. (archaic) if.^[11][8]

Noun

1. An added condition or detail, as in no ifs, ands or buts.^[4]
2. (computing) A logical operator that is true only when both its inputs are true.^[4][6]

Word family

• AND gate

Related words

• end
• ante-
• anti-

Usage notes

A northern and Scots and meaning "than", recorded from 1463, is a respelling of a dialect form of than confused with an, "if".^[6][14]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
8. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press