both

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English bothe, boþe, from Old English 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 , from Old English , a form of Old English bēġen.

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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both

  1. Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.
    Both children are such dolls.
    Which one do you need? ―I need both of them.

Usage notes

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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

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Translations

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Pronoun

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both

  1. Each of the two, or of the two kinds.
    Did you want this one or that one? ―Give me both.
    They were both here.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

Conjunction

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both

  1. Including both of (used with and).
    Both you and I are students.
    • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
      Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
  2. (obsolete) Including all of (used with and).
    • 1598, Philip Sidney, The countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia, page 211:
      [] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and forepreparation []
    • 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: [], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: [] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, [], →OCLC:
      Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.
    • 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: [] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, [], published 1798, →OCLC:
      He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast.
    • 1892, Richard Congreve, Essays Political, Social, and Religious, volume 2, page 615:
      [] as he appreciates its beauty and its rich gifts, as he regards it with venerant love, fed by both his intellectual powers, his contemplation, and his meditation.

Translations

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Quotations

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See also

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Anagrams

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Irish

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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

  1. booth, hut

Declension

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Alternative declension

Derived terms

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

Mutation

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Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
both bhoth mboth
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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  1. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 17

Further reading

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (booth)

Etymology 2

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Determiner

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (both)

Pronoun

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (both)

Conjunction

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both

  1. Alternative form of bothe (both)

Old Irish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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both f (genitive buithe)

  1. Alternative form of buith

Inflection

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Feminine ā-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative bothL
Vocative bothL
Accusative buithN
Genitive buitheH
Dative buithL
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Verb

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·both

  1. preterite passive conjunct of at·tá

Welsh

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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both f (plural bothau)

  1. (transport) hub of a wheel, nave
    Synonyms: bogail, bŵl

Mutation

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Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
both foth moth unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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  • 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