that

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English that,^[2][3] inherited from Old English þæt, the neuter nominative and accusative singular of the demonstrative and definite article sē, feminine sēo,^[4][5][6][7] from Proto-Germanic *þat,^[6] from Proto-Indo-European *tod.^[5][8] It is cognate with Old Frisian thet, Old Saxon that, Dutch dat, Old High German daz, German das and Old Norse þat,^[5][8][6] and outside Germanic with Latin istud and Ancient Greek τό (tó).^[5][8] With the loss of grammatical gender in Middle English it came to be used with nouns of every gender.^[6] The relative pronoun and the conjunction are uses of the same neuter form, already in Old English;^[4][8] the relative replaced the indeclinable þe.^[8] German distinguishes the conjunction, dass, only in spelling.^[9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The demonstrative pronoun: about 725, in Beowulf, according to Barnhart, who dates the conjunction to before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[5] The OED's earliest records of the pronoun, the relative and the conjunction are all early Old English.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old English that also served as the neuter definite article; after Middle English this survived mainly in that one and that other, and it is last recorded in 1576.^[4] As a word placed before a noun, that man, it is recorded about 1200, in the Ormulum,^[5][8] and at the same time it began to be contrasted with this for something farther off.^[6] The adverb, "to that degree", as in not that far, is dated about 1200 by Etymonline and about 1450 by Barnhart.^[6][5] That is, "that is to say", dates from the late 12th century, and thataway from 1839.^[6] Johnson (1755) listed "because" as the first sense of the conjunction.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English þæt, demonstrative pronoun.^[5]
• before 899 – conjunction introducing a clause.^[5][4]
• Old English – relative pronoun introducing a defining clause.^[4]
• late 12th century – that is, that is to say.^[6]
• c. 1200 – before a noun, as a determiner; contrasted with this.^[5][6]
• c. 1450 – adverb, to such a degree.^[5]
• 1576 – last record as a definite article, in that other.^[4]
• 1839 – thataway, in that direction.^[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. The person or thing pointed to, mentioned or understood: Is that your coat?^[11][12][4]
2. The one farther away or less immediate, as opposed to this.^[11][12]
3. The event or statement just mentioned: After that, we went home.^[11][4]
4. Introducing a relative clause, especially a restrictive one: the film that we saw.^[11][4]

Determiner

1. Being the one indicated or understood: that bridge.^[11][12]
2. Being the one farther away: this side or that side.^[11][12]

Conjunction

1. Introducing a noun clause: He said that he was tired.^[11][4]
2. Introducing a clause of result, purpose, wish or cause, often after so or such: It was so cold that the lake froze.^[11][4]
3. (literary) Introducing a wish: Oh that it were spring!^[4][11]

Adverb

1. To that extent: It isn't that difficult.^[11][2]
2. (dialect) So, very: I was that tired.^[2][11]

Word family

• that's
• thataway

Related words

• the
• those

Usage notes

Dictionary.com notes that a relative clause introduced by that is usually restrictive, essential to the meaning of the sentence, and that the word can refer both to people and to things, so that it can stand for who or which in most uses; writers choose among them partly by sound and personal preference.^[13]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House