Where does “than” come from?

than (Old High German) 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 High German): then, there, when, at that time; from there,...

Definitions

  1. then, there, when, at that time; from there,...

Ancestry of “than”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanic*þanthen, at that time
2Proto-Germanicþanthen, at that time
3Proto-Germanicþam—
4Proto-Indo-Europeantóm—
5Proto-Indo-Europeansóthis; that
Every word from Proto-Indo-European só →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tóm →Every word from Proto-Germanic þam →