both

English Online Dictionary. What means both‎? What does both mean?

English

Alternative forms

• bothe (obsolete)

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: bōth, IPA^(key): /bəʊθ/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [bəʊθ]
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [boʊθ]
    • (Philadelphia) IPA^(key): [bɜʊ̯θ]
  • (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [bɐʉθ]
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [boːθ]
• (nonstandard US) enPR: bōlth, IPA^(key): /boʊlθ/, [boʊɫθ]
• Rhymes: -əʊθ

Determiner

both

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

Usage notes

This word does not come between a possessive and its head noun. Say both (of) my hands, not *my both hands. Say, both (of) the king's horses, not *the king's both horses.

Derived terms

Translations

Pronoun

both

1. Each of the two, or of the two kinds.

Conjunction

both

1. Including both of (used with and).

   I (can) both sing and dance.

   Both you and I are students.
2. (obsolete) Including all of (used with and).

Translations

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:both.

See also

Anagrams

• OTH-B

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish both (“hut, cabin”), from Proto-Celtic *butā (compare Middle Welsh bot (“dwelling”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be”). Related to English booth.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bˠɔ(h)/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /bˠoh/

Noun

both f (genitive singular botha, nominative plural bothanna or botha)

1. booth, hut

Declension

Alternative declension

Derived terms

• bothach (“hutted, full of huts”, adjective)
• bothán m (“shanty, cabin; hut, shed, coop”)
• bothchampa m (“hutment”)
• bothóg f (“shanty, cabin”)

Mutation

References

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “both”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• “both”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 both”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

both

1. Alternative form of bothe (“booth”)

Etymology 2

Determiner

both

1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Pronoun

both

1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Conjunction

both

1. Alternative form of bothe (“both”)

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boθ/

Noun

both f (genitive buithe)

1. Alternative form of buith

Inflection

Verb

·both

1. preterite passive conjunct of at·tá

Welsh

Etymology

Probably ultimately from Proto-Celtic *buzdos (“tail, penis”) perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gʷosdʰos (“piece of wood”) (compare Proto-Slavic *gvozdь (“nail, tack, peg”)). Cognates include Cornish both (“hump, stud”), Breton bod (“bush, shrub”), Irish bod (“penis”), Manx bod (“penis”) and Manx bwoid (“penis”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boːθ/
• Rhymes: -oːθ

Noun

both f (plural bothau)

1. (transport) hub of a wheel, nave

   Synonyms: bogail, bŵl

Mutation

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “both”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies