Etimology
From Middle English then(ne), than(ne), from Old English þonne, þanne, þænne (“then, at that time”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“at that (time), then”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“demonstrative pronoun, that”). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then”), German dann (“then”), Icelandic þá (“then”). Doublet of than.
adverb
then (not comparable)
(temporal location) At that time.
(temporal location) Soon afterward.
(sequence) Next in order of place.
In addition; also; besides.
(conjunctive) In that case.
(sequence) At the same time; on the other hand.
(UK, dialect, affirmation) Used to contradict an assertion.
Examples
He was happy then.
And the Canaanite was then in the land.
In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.
He fixed it, then left.
Turn left, then right, then right again, then keep going until you reach the service station.
First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.
There are three green ones, then a blue one.
Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.
Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
Another legend says that now and again in the world's history a monarch appears who conquers and rules every nation under the sun. […] Then many of the Siamese believe that the animal is inhabited by the soul of some great man of the past […]
If it’s locked, then we’ll need the key.
Is it 12 o'clock already? Then it's time for me to leave.
You don't like potatoes? What do you want me to cook, then?
And, as the Cock crew, those who stood beforeThe Tavern shouted — "Open then the Door!You know how little while we have to stay,And, once departed, may return no more."
That happy minute would elate me, / End all my sorrow, grief, and cares; / Then do not frown, altho' you hate me, / But smile and dissipate my fears: […]
That’s a nice shirt, but then, so is the other one.
‘She says Indian elephants are tidgy little things.’ ‘They're not then.’ Emma was getting heated. ‘They're –’ ‘Emma!’ said Jenny sharply. The child subsided.
Related words
synonyms
(at that time): at the time, back in the day
(soon afterward): and then, and so, subsequently, so
(next in order): and then, followed by; see also Thesaurus:then
(in that case): accordingly, as a result; see also Thesaurus:therefore
(at the same time): concurrently, therewhile; see also Thesaurus:simultaneously
(contradiction):
adjective
then (not comparable)
Being so at that time.
Examples
He had met his then girlfriend when he had just started university. The relationship ended unhappily when the girlfriend complained that he never wanted to go out.
noun
then
That time
Examples
It will be finished before then.
conjunction
then
Obsolete spelling of than
Misspelling of than.
Examples
[…] his hand, more ſad [i.e., heavy, hard] then lomp of lead, […]
And as a Pible caſt into a Spring, / Wee ſee a ſort of trembling cirkles riſe, / One forming other in theyr iſſuing / Till ouer all the Fount they circulize, / So this perpetuall-motion-making kiſſe, / Is propagate through all my faculties, / And makes my breaſt an endleſſe Fount of bliſſe, / Of which, if Gods could drink, theyr matchleſſe fare / Would make them much more bleſſed then they are.
Clow[ne]. O they haue lyud long on the almſbaſket of wordes. I maruaile thy M.hath not eaten thee for a worde, for thou art not ſo long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: Thou art eaſier ſwallowed then a flapdragon.
To ſet the minde on the racke of long meditation is a torment: to follow the ſwift foote of your hound alday long, hath no wearineſſe: what would you ſay of him that finds better game in his ſtudie, then you in the fielde, and would account your diſport his puniſhment? ſuch there are, though you doubt and wonder.