Where does “than” come from?
than (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic þan, from Proto-Germanic þam, from Proto-Indo-European tóm, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.
than (Old Dutch): then
Ancestry of “than”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | *þan | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | þan | then, at that time |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | þam | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | tóm | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |
Words derived from “than”