between
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *dwóh₁ |
From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonum (“between, among”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”) + *twīhnaz (“two each”), corresponding to be- + twain. Cognate with Scots between (“between”), Scots atween (“between”), Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹 (tweihnai, “two each”), Old English betweoh (“between”), Old English twinn (“double, twofold”). More at betwixt, twin.
More distantly related to Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across, by, over”) whence English dia- (“through, across, between”).
For the meaning development also compare with Mongolian хооронд (xoorond, “between”), connected with Mongolian хоёр (xojor, “two”).
Pronunciation
Preposition
between
- In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)
- John stood between Amy and Mary. Let’s meet between two and three.
- I want to buy one that costs somewhere between forty and fifty dollars.
- [c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], signature G2, recto:
- The prince is here at hand, pleaſeth your Lordſhip / To meet his grace iuſt diſtance tvveene our armies.]
- 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
- Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
- 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
- Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.
- Done together or reciprocally.
- conversation between friends
- 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:
- She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.
- Shared in confidence.
- Between you and me, I think the boss is crazy. Let's keep this between ourselves.
- In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).
- He's between jobs right now. The shuttle runs between the town and the airport.
- Combined (by effort or ownership).
- Between us all, we shall succeed. We've only got £5 between us.
- Between the leaky taps and the peeling wallpaper, there isn't much about this house to appeal to a buyer.
- One of (representing a choice).
- You must choose between him and me.
- Some colour-blind people can't distinguish between red and green.
- Taking together the combined effect of.
- Between the food and the card games, this proved to be the best birthday party I have ever had.
Usage notes
- It is sometimes said that between usually applies to two things, while among applies to more than two things. According to the Oxford English Dictionary: "In all senses, between has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two. In OE and ME, it was so extended in sense 1, in which among is now considered better. It is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely: we should not say ‘the space lying among the three points,’ or ‘a treaty among three powers,’ or ‘the choice lies among the three candidates in the select list,’ or ‘to insert a needle among the closed petals of a flower’".[1]
Synonyms
Derived terms
- betweenane
- between a rock and a hard place
- between decks
- betweenhood
- betweenity
- between jobs
- betweenness
- between ourselves
- between Scylla and Charybdis
- between-seasons jacket
- between-step
- between-subjects
- between the devil and the deep blue sea
- between the ears
- between the hammer and the anvil
- between the jigs and the reels
- between the pegs
- between the pipes
- between the sheets
- between the sticks
- between time
- between-time
- between times
- between two stools
- betweenwhiles
- between wind and water
- between you and I
- between you and me
- between you and me and the bedpost
- between you and me and these four walls
- betwixt and between
- bit between one's teeth
- caught between two stools
- come between
- create daylight between oneself and someone
- drive a wedge between
- fall between the cracks
- fall between two stools
- few and far between
- get between
- go between
- go-between
- in between
- in-between
- in-between hop
- in between jobs
- in between times
- keep it between the ditches
- know the difference between one's ass and a hole in the ground
- know the difference between one's ass and one's elbow
- mean distance between failure
- nothing to choose between
- put daylight between oneself and someone
- read between the lines
- rose between two thorns
- stand between
- step between
- sympathy is between shit and syphilis
- tail-between-one's-legs
- tail between one's legs
- therebetween
- there's many a slip between the cup and the lip
- tween
- tweenager
- wherebetween
Translations
in the position or interval that separates two things
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in transit from one to the other
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combined by effort or ownership
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one of, representing a choice
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
Noun
between (plural betweens)
References
- “How to distinguish “between” and “among””, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), (Can we date this quote?)
Anagrams
Chinese
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