different between between vs imell

English

Alternative forms

• betweene (archaic)
• betwene (archaic)
• b/w (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Middle English betwene, from Old English betw?onan, betw?onum (“between, among, amid, in the midst, meanwhile”, dative plural, literally “by the two, near both”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”) + *tw?hnaz (“two each”), corresponding to be- +? twain. Cognate with Scots between (“between”), Scots atween (“between”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????? (tweihnai, “two each”), Old English betweohs (“between”), Old English twinn (“double, twofold”). More at betwixt, twin.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??twi?n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /b??twin/, /b??twin/, [b??t?win]
• Hyphenation: be?tween

Preposition

between

1. In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)
2. Done together or reciprocally.
3. Shared in confidence.

4. In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).

5. Combined (by effort or ownership).

6. One of (representing a choice).

7. Taking together the combined effect of.

Usage notes

• Some groups of non-native speakers confuse between and among. It is sometimes said that between usually applies to two things, while among applies to more than two things. This is not correct; according to the Oxford English Dictionary: "In all senses, between has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two. In OE and ME, it was so extended in sense 1, in which among is now considered better. It is still the only word available to express the relation of a thing to many surrounding things severally and individually, among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely: we should not say ‘the space lying among the three points,’ or ‘a treaty among three powers,’ or ‘the choice lies among the three candidates in the select list,’ or ‘to insert a needle among the closed petals of a flower’".

Synonyms

• atween (archaic)
• atwix (dialectal)
• atwixt (archaic)
• betwixt (archaic)

Derived terms

• Pages starting with “between”.

Translations

See also

• betwixt
• among

Noun

between (plural betweens)

1. A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.

References

Anagrams

• betwene

English

Alternative forms

• amell, imelle, inmell, ymell, omelle

Etymology

From Middle English imell, emell, emelle, omelle, from Old Norse á milli, í milli (“in the middle”), from Old Norse milli, miðli (“middle”), from Proto-Germanic *midil?, *medal? (“middle”), from Proto-Indo-European *méd?yos (“between, in the middle, middle”). More at middle.

Adverb

imell (comparative more imell, superlative most imell)

1. (dialectal or obsolete) In the middle; between.

Preposition

imell

1. (dialectal or obsolete) Amid; among.