Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- conj. Used after a comparative adjective or adverb to introduce the second element or clause of an unequal comparison: She is a better athlete than I.
- conj. Used to introduce the second element after certain words indicating difference: He draws quite differently than she does.
- conj. When. Used especially after hardly and scarcely: I had scarcely walked in the door than the commotion started.
- prep. Usage Problem In comparison or contrast with: could run faster than him; outclassed everyone other than her.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- At that time; then. See then.
- A particle used after comparatives, and certain words which express comparison or diversity, such as more, better, other, otherwise, rather, else, etc., and introducing the second member of a comparison. Than has the same case (usually the nominative) after it as it has before it, in accordance with the syntactical rule that “conjunctions connect … the same cases of nouns and pronouns”: as, he is taller than I (am); I am richer than he (is); “thrice fairer than (I) myself (am)” (Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1.7); they like you better than (they like) me.
- Sometimes the preceding comparative is left to be inferred from the context; sometimes it is omitted from mere carelessness. A noun or a pronoun after than has a show of analogy with one governed by a preposition, and is sometimes blunderingly put in the objective case even when properly of subjective value: as, none knew better than him. Even Milton says than whom, and this is more usual: for example, than whom there is none better.
Wiktionary
- conj. obsolete, archaic or dialectal (usually used with for) Because; for.
- conj. Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
- prep. introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.
- adv. At that time; then.
GNU Webster's 1913
- conj. A particle expressing comparison, used after certain adjectives and adverbs which express comparison or diversity, as
more ,better ,other ,otherwise , and the like. It is usually followed by the object compared in the nominative case. Sometimes, however, the object compared is placed in the objective case, andthan is then considered by some grammarians as a preposition. Sometimes the object is expressed in a sentence, usually introduced bythat . - adv. obsolete Then. See then.
Etymologies
- From Middle English than, thanne, from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne ("then, since, because"), from Proto-Germanic *þana (“at that, at that time, then”). Cognate with Dutch dan ("than"), German denn ("than"), German dann ("then"). More at then. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English thanne, than. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Well, said Tom, with cold scorn, if your feelings are so much better than mine, let me see you show them in some other way than by conduct thats likely to disgrace us all, than by ridiculous flights first into one extreme and then into another.”
“He had urged the government in his last letters before leaving France to send it not later than a fortnight after he himself had sailed: The convoy will cross much more safely now under the guard of two warships, he had written to Montbarey, than it will in a month with an escort of thirty, when the English are ready.”
Rochambeau and the French in America. I. From Unpublished Documents. IV
“OR, _adv. _ before, as _Or this_, before this time; rather than, _Or than_, before then.”
“IV. iv.441 (351,7) [Not hold thee of our blood, no, not our kin, Far than Deucalion off] I think for _far than_ we should read _far as_.”
“The banking powers are more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy.”
“Evil also is the teaching that repentance is higher than purity: "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenth, _more than_ over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance" (Luke xv.”
“No, its not a mafia-endorsed wine Hey, better the head on the label than in the bed!”
“While the Iranian regime is often called crazy, it has done much less to merit the term than did a regime such as Mao's China.”
Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis
“Often I treat Christ more like a label than a person.”
“While I continue to suspect, based on my own experience and history of interactions, that there are more agnostics as I understand the term than 'pure' atheists, it seems, based on these responses, that there are more 'true' atheists than I'd thought.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Adam Jacobs: A Rabbi Responds To His Atheist Critics
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘than’.
-
EN - Glasgow stop list
Words to be replaced by a paragraph mark if you are after terms and MWEs.
yours, yourself, yet, your, without, you, within, will, yourselves, would, why, with and 291 more...
-
words that sound really weird when yo...
I think we all know the feeling. I will post examples as they come to me. Perhaps some sort of connecting thread will be found.
than, ford, touch, weird, mean, that, glasses, paper, that that, now now, when when, wear wear and 14 more...
-
Resident Pipsiculturalist Makes Huge ...
See comments on pipsiculture and homosexuality, which have nothing to do with each other except that I read comments on them at around the same time on the same day.
See also the list ...heterosexuality, homosexuality, agriculture, argumentative, that, article, thus, make, do, the, interesting, like and 106 more...
-
hard to sense
somewhat, somewhere, elsewhere, whereby, likewise, spite, ever, along, otherwise, whatever, whichever, hitherto and 116 more...
-
Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
contemplate, container, consumer, consultant, consensus, conscious, conscience, connection, confusion, confront, conflict, confident and 4334 more...
-
aparrish's Words
the, this, and, a, that, i, me, you, him, her, she, he and 96 more...
-
The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
-
words misused at work
words people use incorrectly or just misspell
stanchion, butte, peak, form, quiescent, pique, be, cellophane, there, they're, their, cannot and 16 more...
-
Cohesion
even if, as though, when, although, because, as long as, as, until, before, than, whenever, while and 7 more...
-
Basic English -- operations
Basic English -- 100 words for operations
come, get, give, go, keep, let, make, put, seem, take, be, do and 88 more...
-
Confusing to the general public
there, their, they're, principal, principle, then, than, who, that
Tweets
Looking for tweets for than.
Telofy This semester has finally reached its end so that since yesterday afternoon I have more time to read stuff, watch stuff and hopefully reorganize a few of my lists. And hardly had I commenced my reading of The Dead by James Joyce when I came across this utterly discombobulating sentence:
“Hardly had she brought one gentleman into the little pantry behind the office on the ground floor and helped him off with his overcoat than the wheezy hall-door bell clanged again and she had to scamper along the bare hallway to let in another guest.�?
A quick search across the Internets only resulted in this hardly thrilling reinforcement of my intuitive grasp on that construction.
But it's Joyce, James Joyce! ;-)
What am I missing? Jul 18, 2009