meantime English · revision 10367

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=mid-14th century}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmiːntaɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English mene-time, from [[mean]], occupying a middle position, intermediate, and [[time]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The interval between one time and another: the mid-14th century, as mene-time.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an adverb, during the interval, it is attested from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The noun is properly two words, ''the mean time'', but is commonly written as one after the adverb.^(Etymonline) ''In the mean space'', meanwhile, was used in the 16th to 18th centuries.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the adverb to about 1593.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-14th century – mene-time.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – the adverb.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th–18th centuries – in the mean space.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The time between one event and another; an [[interval]], chiefly in the phrase ''in the meantime''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # During the intervening time; [[meanwhile]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[meanwhile]]

+ * [[mean]]

+ * [[time]]

+ * [[interim]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Caithness and Edinburgh Scots, ''in the middle of the meantime'' meant meanwhile.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}