than
/ðæn/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.13 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
conj
Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
prep
Introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.
adv
At that time; then.
name
A surname.
name
A village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Example Sentences
- "Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless."
- "The artist worried more than was necessary: there were a lot of people at the exhibition, more than came last year."
- "Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so."
- "she's taller than I am; she found his advice more witty than helpful; we have less work today than we had yesterday; We had no (other) choice than to return home; I love you more than (what) she does, but less than he, or than I do your sisters."
- "Profits were higher than forecast."
- "City dwellers have a higher cancer rate than do countrymen. Apparently, they drink more than is good for 'em."
Etymology
From Middle English than, thanne (“than; then”), from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne (“then; when; than”), from Proto-West Germanic *þannē, an alteration of *þan (“then; than”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then; than”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“that”, demonstrative pronoun). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then; than”), German denn (“for; so”), German dann (“then”). Doublet of then.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: than, þanne, *þannē, *þan, *tóm, သန်း