BETWEEN

between, 'tween

(adverb) in between; “two houses with a tree between”

between, betwixt

(adverb) in the interval; “dancing all the dances with little rest between”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Preposition

between

In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)

Done together or reciprocally.

Shared in confidence.

In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).

Combined (by effort or ownership).

One of (representing a choice).

Usage notes

• Some groups of non-native speakers confuse between and among. It is sometimes said that between usually applies to two things, while among applies to more than two things. This is not correct; according to the Oxford English Dictionary: "In all senses, between has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two. In OE. and ME. it was so extended in sense 1, in which among is now considered better. It is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely: we should not say ‘the space lying among the three points,’ or ‘a treaty among three powers,’ or ‘the choice lies among the three candidates in the select list,’ or ‘to insert a needle among the closed petals of a flower’".

Synonyms

• atween (archaic)

• atwix (dialectal)

• atwixt (archaic)

• betwixt (archaic)

Noun

between (plural betweens)

A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.

Anagrams

• betwene

Source: Wiktionary

Be*tween", prep. Etym: [OE. bytwene, bitweonen, AS. betweónan, betweónum; prefix be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two, akin to Goth. tweihnai two apiece. See Twain, and cf. Atween, Betwixt.]

1. In the space which separates; betwixt; as, New York is between Boston and Philadelphia.

2. Used in expressing motion from one body or place to another; from one to another of two. If things should go so between them. Bacon.

3. Belonging in common to two; shared by both. Castor and Pollux with only one soul between them. Locke.

4. Belonging to, or participated in by, two, and involving reciprocal action or affecting their mutual relation; as, opposition between science and religion. An intestine struggle, open or secret, between authority and liberty. Hume.

5. With relation to two, as involved in an act or attribute of which another is the agent or subject; as, to judge between or to choose between courses; to distinguish between you and me; to mediate between nations.

6. In intermediate relation to, in respect to time, quantity, or degree; as, between nine and ten o'clock. Between decks, the space, or in the space, between the decks of a vessel.

– Between ourselves, Between you and me, Between themselves, in confidence; with the understanding that the matter is not to be communicated to others.

Syn.

– Between, Among. Between etymologically indicates only two; as, a quarrel between two men or two nations; to be between two fires, etc. It is however extended to more than two in expressing a certain relation. I . . . hope that between public business, improving studies, and domestic pleasures, neither melancholy nor caprice will find any place for entrance. Johnson. Among implies a mass or collection of things or persons, and always supposes more than two; as, the prize money was equally divided among the ship's crew.

Be*tween", n.

Definition: Intermediate time or space; interval. [Poetic & R.] Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

BETWEEN

Etymology

Preposition

Usage notes

Synonyms

Noun

Anagrams

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