both

Meanings

1. 1
   det

   The two together; the one and the other.

   Both children are at school today.

2. 2
   pron

   The two people or things, taken together.

   Did you want this one or that one? Give me both.

3. 3
   conj

   Used with 'and' to include two things equally.

   She can both sing and dance.

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.

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