both
pronoun
- the one and the other
conjunction
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L333917 on Wikidata ↗adjective
- each of two entities
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /bəʊθ/ / [bəʊθ] / [boʊθ]
conj
Etymology: From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen. A remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.
- Including both of (used with and).
“I (can) both sing and dance.”
“Both you and I are students.”
- Including all of (used with and).
“[…] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and forepreparation […]”
“Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.”
det
Etymology: From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen. A remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.
- Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
“Both (the/my) children are such dolls.”
“Which one do you need? ―I need both of them.”
name
- A surname.
pron
Etymology: From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir, from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide (“both”), German beide (“both”), Swedish både, båda, Danish både, Norwegian både, Icelandic báðir. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen. A remnant of the Indo-European dual grammatical number.
- Each of the two, or of the two kinds.
“Did you want this one or that one? ―Give me both.”
“They were both here.”