Etymograph

English

both

Both comes from Middle English bothe ‘both’, and goes back to Old English bā þā.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150bā þā1‘both the’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bothe1‘both’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1598both1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English both
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1598, Philip Sidney, The countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia: “[…] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150bā þāWiktionary, English both‘both the’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500botheWiktionary, English both‘both’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1598bothWiktionary, English both. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1598, Philip Sidney, The countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia: “[…] having much aduantage both in number, valure, and…”

The story

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. Replaced Middle English bō, from Old English bā, a form of Old English bēġen.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with both, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Middle English bothe

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Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “both”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English bā þā / both