Than
/ðæn/noun
A conjunction or preposition used to introduce the second element in a comparison.
Did you know?In Old and Middle English, “than” and “then” were often the same word or spelling variant, and their modern distinction developed gradually through later usage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*to-
“A demonstrative root meaning “that” or “the one indicated,” ancestral to many Germanic pointing words.”
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*þan
“A demonstrative or adverbial form meaning roughly “then” or “at that time.””
Old English
Old English
þanne / þan
““Then,” and in comparative constructions, “than.””
Middle English
Middle English
than / then
“A conjunction introducing the second part of a comparison; spelling and meaning still overlapped with “then.””
15th–16th Century
English
than
“The increasingly standard form used specifically in comparisons, distinct from temporal “then.””
Modern English
English
than
“A word used after comparative expressions, as in “older than” or “more than.””