ON WHEN, THEN, AND THAN.
s. 441. The Anglo-Saxon adverbs are _whenne_ and _thenne_=_when_, _then_.
The masculine accusative cases of the relative and demonstrative pronoun
are _hwaene_ (_hwone_) and _thaene_ (_thone_).
Notwithstanding the difference, the first form is a variety of the second;
so that the adverbs _when_ and _then_ are pronominal in origin.
As to the word _than_, the conjunction of comparison, it is a variety of
_then_; the notions of _order_, _sequence_, and _comparison_ being allied.
_This is good_: _then_ (or _next in order_) _that is good_, is an
expression sufficiently similar to _this is better than that_ to have given
rise to it.
* * * * *
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