*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of both

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 (“bot

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
pron

Each of the two, or of the two kinds.

det

Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.

conj

Including both of (used with and). · Including all of (used with and).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionbotheenm
  • Inherited-form mentionbā þāang · both the; both those
  • Derivation mentionbáðirnon
  • Derivation mention*baigem-pro
  • Cognate mentionbeestq · both
  • Cognate mentionbeidefy · both
  • Cognate mentionbeidenl
  • Cognate mentionbeidede
  • Cognate mentionbådesv
  • Cognate mentionbådeda
  • Cognate mentionbådeno
  • Cognate mentionbáðiris
  • Cognate mentionbāang
  • Cognate mentionbēġenang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bothe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bothe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bā þā",
        "t": "both the; both those"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "báðir"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse báðir"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bai"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bai"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "bee",
        "t": "both"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian bee (“both”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "beide",
        "t": "both"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian beide (“both”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "beide",
        "3": "",
        "4": "both"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch beide (“both”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "beide",
        "3": "",
        "4": "both"
      },
      "expansion": "German beide (“both”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "både"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish både"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "både"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish både"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "både"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian både"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "báðir"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic báðir"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "bō"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bō"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "bā"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bā"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "bēġen"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bēġen"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bothe",
      "bothe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "boþe",
      "boþe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bā",
      "ba#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "þā",
      "þa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "báðir",
      "báðir#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*bai",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bai"
    ],
    [
      "bee",
      "bee#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "beide",
      "beide#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "beide",
      "beide#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "beide",
      "beide#German"
    ],
    [
      "både",
      "både#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "båda",
      "båda#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "både",
      "både#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "både",
      "både#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "báðir",
      "báðir#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "bō",
      "bo#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bā",
      "ba#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "bēġen",
      "begen#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "pron",
      "glosses": [
        "Each of the two, or of the two kinds."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "09658a8e1c22ee8071aea542a40c054c56d258c944fb7e359bb9a31a98c6f4d7",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18806
    },
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18805
    },
    {
      "pos": "conj",
      "glosses": [
        "Including both of (used with and).",
        "Including all of (used with and)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "c6bb38b5183f1dd2b101313345ee08761a5dc7115455181f372c068412d388b7",
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for both →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Ym90aA