then

then · adverb, adjective, noun, conjunction¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*tóm
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þan“at that (time), then”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*þan
4. Old English · inherited fromþonne
5. Middle English · inherited fromthen(ne)
6. English todaythen

From Middle English then(ne), than(ne), from Old English þonne, þanne, þænne (“then, at that time”), from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic *þan (“at that (time), then”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“demonstrative pronoun, that”). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then”), German dann (“then”), Swedish då (“then”), Icelandic þá (“then”). Doublet of than.

Then · proper noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ten-“to stretch”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*tainaz“metal rod”
3. Middle Low German · derived fromten, tene“blank; disk from which a coin is made”
4. English todayThen

* As a south German surname, from the personal name Thön, a form of Anthony. * Also as a German surname, a variant of Ten, occupational surname for a mintmaster, from obsolete Middle Low German ten, tene (“blank; disk from which a coin is made”), possibly related to Proto-Germanic *tainaz (“metal rod”), or perhaps otherwise from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”). * Also as a German name, from the noun Tenne (“threshing-floor”). * As a Chinese surname, a Romanization of 鄧 /邓 (dèng) (see Deng) and 田 (tián) (see Tian).

Words from the same roots