Link Centre Dictionary

between

bet·ween

UK/bɪˈtwiːn/ US/bɪˈtwɪjn/ very common

adverb

1.

in the interval

  • “dancing all the dances with little rest between”
Synonyms
2.

in between

  • “two houses with a tree between”
Synonyms

Origin

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English betwene, from Old English betwēonum (“between, among”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”) + *twīhnaz (“two each”), corresponding to be- + twain. Cognate with Scots between (“between”), Scots atween (“between”), Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹 (tweihnai, “two each”), Old English betweoh (“between”), Old English twinn (“double, twofold”). More at betwixt, twin. More distantly related to Ancient Greek διά (diá, “through, across, by, over”) whence English dia- (“through, across, between”). For the meaning development also compare with Mongolian хооронд (xoorond, “between”), connected with Mongolian хоёр (xojor, “two”).

Phrases

  • between a rock and a hard place
  • between decks
  • between jobs
  • between ourselves
  • between Scylla and Charybdis
  • between the devil and the deep blue sea
  • between the ears
  • between-seasons jacket

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.