Between

How to spell between

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce between

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does between mean?

1. prepositionIn or into the space, time, or range that separates two people, things, or points.

Between in a sentence

• The cat sat between the cushions.

• Choose between tea and coffee.

Where does between come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word, descending from the Old English betwēonum, which combined the prefix be-, meaning 'by' or 'near', with a form related to twā, the Old English word for 'two'. Its literal force was something like 'by two each' or 'in the space dividing two things', which is exactly the meaning it still carries today. The buried 'tween' element shares its root with 'two', 'twin', and 'twain', all reaching back to the same ancient idea of a pair. Over the centuries betwēonum was smoothed down to the modern 'between', losing the older inflected endings while keeping its core sense intact. Because the spelling no longer shows the 'two' connection clearly, the silent link to twin and twain is a useful memory aid for the unstressed first syllable.

How the word is built

• be- (by, near)
• tween (from Old English twēon, related to twā: two)