Etymograph

English

within

Within comes from Middle English withinne, and goes back to Old English wiþinnan.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150wiþinnan1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500withinne1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1849within1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English within
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within a Dream: “O God! can I not save / One from…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150wiþinnanWiktionary, English within
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500withinneWiktionary, English within
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1849withinWiktionary, English within. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1849, Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within a Dream: “O God! can I not save / One from…”

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Today it means

prep In the inner part, spatially; physically inside.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “within”. 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 wiþinnan / within