entry
both
/boʊθ/The two together; each of two
From Proto-Indo-European through Proto-Germanic ba (both) + Proto-Germanic þa (those).
from PIE *bho "both") + -þ extended base. Another traces it to the Proto-Germanic formula represented in Old English by...
from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide...
from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir
from Middle English bothe, boþe
from Middle English bothe, boþe
Word Ancestry
from PIE *bho "both") + -þ extended base. Another traces it to the Proto-Germanic formula represented in Old English by...
from Proto-Germanic *bai. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bee (“both”), West Frisian beide (“both”), Dutch beide...
from Old English bā þā (“both the; both those”) and possibly reinforced by Old Norse báðir
from Middle English bothe, boþe
from Middle English bothe, boþe
Picture an Old English speaker pointing at two objects and saying something like “bā þā”—literally, “both those.” Over centuries, that little phrase was pressed together until Middle English speakers wrote it as bothe, much as frequent speech welds “going to” into “gonna.” The first half belongs to the old Germanic family of forms represented by Proto-Germanic *bai, while the second is related to the demonstrative behind English that and those. There is a delightful grammatical fossil here: both preserves a faint memory of the Indo-European dual, the number used specifically for two rather than for one or several. German beide, Dutch beide, and Scandinavian både are its close relatives, so when you say “both,” you are quietly joining a very large Germanic family reunion. Even ambidextrous—literally “right-handed on both sides”—carries the same idea in a Latin disguise: sometimes two really are better than one.
The Story
Picture an Old English speaker pointing at two objects and saying something like “bā þā”—literally, “both those.” Over centuries, that little phrase was pressed together until Middle English speakers wrote it as bothe, much as frequent speech welds “going to” into “gonna.” The first half belongs to the old Germanic family of forms represented by Proto-Germanic *bai, while the second is related to the demonstrative behind English that and those. There is a delightful grammatical fossil here: both preserves a faint memory of the Indo-European dual, the number used specifically for two rather than for one or several. German beide, Dutch beide, and Scandinavian både are its close relatives, so when you say “both,” you are quietly joining a very large Germanic family reunion. Even ambidextrous—literally “right-handed on both sides”—carries the same idea in a Latin disguise: sometimes two really are better than one.
Modern Usage
Being simultaneously high and drunk; also a vulgar humorous term for two breasts.
Kin & Kindred
From 'ba'·both; the two together
Cognates
Related words in other languages
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'þa'·those; the demonstrative plural
Cognates
Related words in other languages
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary