between
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonan, betwēonum (“between, among, amid, in the midst, meanwhile”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), *twihnaz (“two each”), corresponding to be- + twain. Cognate with Scots between (“between”), Scots atween (“between”), Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹 (tweihnai, “two each”), Old English betweohs (“between”), Old English twinn (“double, twofold”). More at betwixt, twin.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /bɪˈtwiːn/, SAMPA: /bI"twi:n/
- (US) IPA: /bɪˈtwin/, SAMPA: /bI"twin/
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Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: be‧tween
[edit] Preposition
between
- In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the 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.
- 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.
[edit] Usage notes
- Some groups of non-native speakers confuse between and among. It is sometimes said that between usually applies to two things, while among applies to more than two things. This is not correct; according to the Oxford English Dictionary (quoted at http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/chesson/between_and_among.htm) "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".
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
in the position or interval that separates two things
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shared in confidence by
in transit from one to the other
combined by effort or ownership
one of, representing a choice
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
[edit] See also
[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: another · right · each · #173: between · face · tell · because
