between
Etymology
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Etymology
From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonum, from Proto-Germanic *bi- + *twīhnaz, corresponding to be- + twain.
More distantly related to Ancient Greek διά whence English dia-.
For the meaning development also compare with Mongolian хооронд (xoorond, “between”), connected with Mongolian хоёр (xojor, “two”).
Pronunciation Preposition- 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.
- Done together or reciprocally.
- conversation between friends
- 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.
between (plural betweens)
- A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003