Then
/ðɛn/noun
At that time; in that case; next in order.
Did you know?English then comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root as words for time and season, so it carries one of the oldest human ideas: ordering the world by moments.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tem-
“to cut; to mark off, divide time”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þan(a)
“then, at that time”
Old English
English
þonne
“then, at that time; next, afterward”
Middle English
English
then
“then; at that time; afterward”
Modern English
English
then
“at that time; in that case; next in order”