Where does “than” come from?

than (Middle English) comes from Old English þanne, from Old English þonne, from Proto-West Germanic þannā, from Proto-Germanic þan, from Proto-Germanic þam, from Proto-Indo-European tóm, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.

than (Middle English): then

Definitions

  1. then

Ancestry of “than”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old EnglishþanneAlternative form of þonne
2Old Englishþonnethen, at that time; then, soon afterward; then,...
3Proto-West Germanicþannā—
4Proto-Germanicþanthen, at that time
5Proto-Germanicþam—
6Proto-Indo-Europeantóm—
7Proto-Indo-Europeansóthis; that

Words derived from “than”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European só →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tóm →Every word from Proto-Germanic þam →