in

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Middle English in, inherited from Old English in (“in, into, upon, on, at, among”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *in,^[2][1] from Proto-Indo-European *en (“in”).^[2][3][5][4] The adverb is a Middle English merger of the preposition with the Old English adverbs inn, used with verbs of motion, and inne (“within, inside”), used with verbs of position;^[2][4][6][7] the simple form took on both uses.^[2][3] The Germanic cognates include Old Frisian in, Old Saxon in, Dutch in, Old High German in, German in, Old Norse í and Gothic 𐌹𐌽 (in);^[2][3][8] Gothic kept the adverb apart as 𐌹𐌽𐌽 (inn).^[8] Outside Germanic they include Latin in, Ancient Greek ἐν (en), Welsh yn and Lithuanian į.^[8][3][7][9] The Latin preposition is the source of the prefix in- and of Latin phrases used in English such as in situ.^[4][9] Inn is etymologically a place in which people live or stay.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Within the limits of a place: Old English, in the Vespasian Psalter;^[8] Barnhart dates the preposition to before 700.^[3] The adverb, "into", is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 894,^[8] and in Beowulf about 725 according to Barnhart.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old English and early Middle English in and on were often interchangeable, on being used where in now appears; the distinction was restored in later Middle English.^[3][2] Middle English sometimes shortened the word to i,^[2] and the use of in and at still separates British and American English (in school, at school).^[2] The adjective, "inner, internal", is recorded about 1430 in the OED,^[8] from the 1590s in Etymonline and Barnhart.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the sense "holding power", as in the in party, to about 1600,^[2] Barnhart to 1817,^[3] and the OED has the ins, the party in office, from 1741.^[8] The sense "belonging to a select group" (in-group) dates from 1906 in the OED and 1907 in Etymonline,^[8][2] and "fashionable" (the in thing) from about 1960.^[2][3] The noun ins and outs first meant twists and turns of a road or a course of action (1655),^[8][2] and the American noun an in, access or influence, appeared in 1929.^[8][2][3] To be in with someone, on friendly terms, dates from the 1670s, and to be in for it from the 1690s.^[2]

Timeline

• before 700 – preposition, within.^[3]
• c. 725 – adverb, in Beowulf.^[3]
• c. 1430 – adjective, inner, internal.^[8] Etymonline and Barnhart date the adjective to the 1590s.^[2][3]
• 1655 – ins and outs, windings, intricacies.^[8]
• 1670s – to be in with, on friendly terms with.^[2]
• 1690s – to be in for it.^[2]
• 1741 – the ins, the party in office.^[8]
• 1906 – adjective, restricted to a select group.^[8] Etymonline and Barnhart date it to 1907.^[2][3]
• 1929 – noun, access to or influence with someone powerful.^[8][2][3]
• 1960 – adjective, fashionable.^[2][3]

Meanings

Preposition

1. Inside, or within the limits of: The keys are in the drawer.^[10][11]
2. During, or after the end of, a period of time: back in an hour.^[11][8]
3. In a particular state or condition: in a hurry.^[10][11]
4. Wearing, or covered by: the woman in the green coat.^[8]
5. Using a language or medium: written in Spanish.^[10][11]
6. Forming part of or belonging to: She served in the navy.^[8][11]
7. Expressing a ratio: one in ten.^[11]

Adverb

1. To or towards the inside: Come in.^[10][8]
2. At home or at one's place of work: Is the manager in today?^[10][6]
3. In or into power or favour.^[10][8]

Adjective

1. Inner; inside.^[10][8]
2. Holding office; in power.^[10][8]
3. (informal) Fashionable, or known only to a select group: the in crowd.^[10][8][2]

Noun

1. ins and outs: the details of something complicated.^[8][2]
2. (informal) Access to or influence with someone powerful: She has an in with the director.^[10][8][2]

Related words

• ins and outs
• inn
• inner
• into
• inside
• on
• in-

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c 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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
11. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins