Etymology

than

T1H4A1N1

Today it means: Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison. Full definition →

Middle English than ← Old English þanne ← Proto-West Germanic *þannē
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than · conjunction, preposition, adverb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*tóm
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*þan“then; than”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*þannē
  4. Old English · inherited fromþanne
  5. Middle English · inherited fromthan
  6. English todaythan

From Middle English than, thanne (“than; then”), from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne (“then; when; than”), from Proto-West Germanic *þannē, an alteration of *þan (“then; than”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then; than”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“that”, demonstrative pronoun). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then; than”), German denn (“for; so”), German dann (“then”). Doublet of then.

Than · proper noun2

  1. Khmer · derived fromថន
  2. Burmese · borrowed fromသန်း
  3. English todayThan

Borrowing from Burmese သန်း (san:) or Khmer ថន (thɑɑn).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*þan all →

then

Proto-Indo-European*tóm all →

then

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.