between English · revision 1855

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 750 (Cynewulf, Elene)|origins=ine-pro *dwo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɪˈtwiːn/, /bə-/^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bitwene]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|betwēonum]], Mercian [[m|ang|betwīnum]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed [[af|ang|be-|twēonum|t1=by|t2=two each]], the second element being the dative plural of [[m|ang|*twēon|t=two each]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) which is related to [[got|𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹|tr=tweihnai|t=two each]] and to [[two]], from [[ine-pro|*dwo-|t=two]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) According to Barnhart ''between'' merges two Old English forms, ''betwēonum'' and [[m|ang|betwēon]].^(Barnhart 1988) In Old English the numeral originally qualified the noun, as in [[m|ang|be sǣm twēonum|t=by seas twain]].^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the space separating two things, midway; among; by turns (Old English, about 750, in Cynewulf's ''Elene'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Strictly the word applies to two things, but the OED notes that from its earliest appearance it was extended to more than two.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) Of time, “in the interval between two events”, it is recorded from the 12th century,^(OED 1989) and of a quantity or degree between two limits from 1711.^(OED 1989) A noun ''between'', an interval or intermediate thing, dates from about 1616,^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) and a short sewing needle has been called a ''between'' since 1801.^(HTOED)^(Wiktionary) ''Between-whiles'', at intervals, is from the 1670s, and ''between a rock and a hard place'' from the 1940s, originally cowboy slang; the earlier phrase was ''between the beetle and the block''.^(Etymonline) ''Betwixt and between'' is not recorded until the 19th century.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 750 – Old English ''betwēonum''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1131 – of time, in the interval.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – ''bitwenen'', in Layamon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1225 – ''bitwene''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1616 – as a noun, an interval.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1670s – ''between-whiles''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1711 – of quantity or degree.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1801 – a kind of sewing needle.^(HTOED)

+ * 1940s – ''between a rock and a hard place''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # In or through the space or interval separating two things, times or limits: ''between the trees'' or ''between 11 and 12 o'clock''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Connecting or relating two or more things: ''air service between cities'' or ''the difference between them''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # By the joint action or ownership of: ''between them, they saved enough''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Shared among: ''divided between his four grandchildren''.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Expressing a choice of alternatives: ''a choice between staying and going''.^(Collins 2023)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # In confidence: ''between you and me''.^(Collins 2023)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In an intermediate space or time: ''two houses with a yard between''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A short [[needle]] with a small round eye, used for fine stitching.^(Wiktionary)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[betweenness]]

+ * [[go-between]]

+ * [[in-between]]

+ * [[betweenwhiles]]

+ * [[tween]]

+ * [[betwixt and between]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[betwixt]]

+ * [[twain]]

+ * [[two]]

+ * [[among]]

+ * [[twin]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The rule that ''between'' is for two and ''among'' for more than two is a widely repeated tradition that the American Heritage Dictionary calls unjustified: ''between'' is used of things considered as distinct individuals, however many, and ''among'' of things considered as a mass.^(AHD) The OED likewise notes that ''between'' has always been used of more than two.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}