then

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English thenne, also thanne and than,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English þanne, also þænne and þonne.^[5][6][7][8] It comes from Proto-Germanic *þan,^[9] and is cognate with Old Frisian thenne, Old Saxon thanna, Dutch dan, Old High German danne, German dann, Old Norse þá and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌽 (þan).^[6][2][9] These are adverbs formed from the demonstrative base of that and the,^[6][7][10] from Proto-Indo-European *to-.^[5][4] Orel analyses the Germanic form as the demonstrative stem with an added particle.^[9] The conjunction than was originally the same word; both varied between then and than in Middle English and the 16th century.^[6][5][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

At that time: about 725, in Beowulf.^[2] The OED's first quotation is from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 894.^[6] Already in Old English it also meant "in that case" and "therefore".^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth–Toller notes that Old English þanne was used of an indefinite or repeated time, while þá marked a definite past action.^[8] Besides "at that time", Old English already used the word for what follows next, for "in that case" with if or when, and as a particle of inference, "therefore".^[6][5] "Next in order, besides" is recorded from about 1290.^[6][5] The noun, "that time" (by then, since then), appears in the early 14th century,^[5][2] and the adjective, "existing at that time", as in the then mayor, in 1584, in Sidney.^[2][3] The phrase now and then is from the 1550s, replacing earlier then and then, and then and there from the mid-15th century.^[5][6] Dialect forms in Scotland and England included den, than and thin, and then was used there for than.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English þanne, at that time, in Beowulf.^[2]
• c. 1200 – Middle English thenne;^[2] then and then, at various times.^[5]
• c. 1290 – next in order, besides.^[6]
• before 1325 – noun, that time.^[2]
• 1436 – then and there.^[6]
• 1550s – now and then.^[5]
• 1584 – adjective, existing at that time.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. At that time, in the past or the future: We lived in Leeds then.^[13][3][6]
2. Next; after that: She locked the door, then went to bed.^[13][3][6]
3. In that case; that being so: If it rains, then the match is off.^[13][6]
4. Besides, in addition: And then there is the cost of parking.^[6][3]
5. now and then: occasionally;^[6] then and there: at once, on the spot.^[6][13]

Noun

1. That time: By then the shops had closed.^[13][3]

Adjective

1. Existing or holding a position at that time: the then president.^[13][3]

Word family

• now and then
• then and there

Related words

• than
• that
• the
• there
• thence

Usage notes

Then and than were once the same word and were spelled interchangeably into the 16th century;^[6][5] Dutch still uses dan for both, while German distinguishes dann and denn.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
9. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
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 e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins