then

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English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English then(ne), than(ne), from Old English þonne, þanne, þænne (“then, at that time”), from Proto-Germanic *þan-, *þana- (“at that (time), then”), from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“demonstrative pronoun”). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then”), German dann (“then”), Icelandic þá (“then”). Related to than.

Adverb [edit]

then (not comparable)

  1. (temporal location) At that time.
    He was happy then.
  2. (temporal location) Soon afterward.
    He fixed it, then left.
    Turn left, then right, then right again, then keep going until you reach the service station.
  3. (sequence) Next in order; in addition.
    There are three green ones, then a blue one.
  4. (conjunctive) In that case.
    If it’s locked, then we’ll need the key.
    Is it 12 o'clock already? Then it's time for me to leave.
    You don't like potatoes? What do you want me to cook, then?
  5. (sequence) At the same time; on the other hand.
    That’s a nice shirt, but then, so is the other one.
  6. (obsolete) At the time that; when.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book I.23, reprinted 1817, Sir Thomas Malory, William Caxton, Morte Darthur: The Byrth, Lyf, and Actes of Kyng Arthur, Volume 1, page 37:
      Than the knyght sawe hym lye soo on the ground, he alyght and was passynge heuy, for he wende he had slayne hym [...].
  7. (UK, dialect, affirmation) used to contradict an assertion.
    • 2001, Eric Malpass, At the Height of the Moon, page 28,
      ‘She says Indian elephants are tidgy little things.’
      ‘They′re not then.’ Emma was getting heated. ‘They′re –’
      ‘Emma!’ said Jenny sharply. The child subsided.

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

at that time
soon afterward
next in order
in that case
at the same time; on the other hand
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Translations to be checked

Adjective [edit]

then (not comparable)

  1. being so at that time

Translations [edit]

being so at that time

See also [edit]

Noun [edit]

then

  1. That time
    It will be finished before then.

Translations [edit]

that time
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.
Translations to be checked

Conjunction [edit]

then

  1. Obsolete spelling of than.

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

References [edit]

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