definitions

betwixt

[ bih-twikst ]
/ bɪˈtwɪkst /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR betwixt ON THESAURUS.COM

preposition, adverb

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. between.

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RELATED WORDS

intermediate, undetermined, unclear, uncertain, hesitant, doubtful, uncommitted, wavering, unsure, vague, ambivalent, unsettled, unanswered, moot, undecided, pending, unsolved, problematic, unresolved, clouded

Nearby words

betweenbrain, betweenity, betweenness, betweentimes, betweenwhiles, betwixt, betwixt and between, betws-y-coed, betz, betz cell, beuckelszoon, jan

Idioms

    betwixt and between, neither the one nor the other; in a middle or unresolved position: Not wanting to side with either her father or her mother, she was betwixt and between.

Origin of betwixt

before 950; Middle English betwix, Old English betwix, betweox, equivalent to be- be- + tweox, cognate with Old High German zwiski two each; akin to German zwischen between (preposition)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for betwixt and between

betwixt

/ (bɪˈtwɪkst) /

preposition, adverb

archaic another word for between
betwixt and between in an intermediate, indecisive, or middle position

Word Origin for betwixt

Old English betwix; related to Old High German zwiski two each
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for betwixt and between

betwixt

prep., adv.

Old English betweox "between, among, amidst, meanwhile," from bi- "by" (see be-) + tweox "for two," from Proto-Germanic *twa "two" + *-isk "-ish." With parasitic -t that first appeared in Old English and became general after c.1500.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with betwixt and between

betwixt and between

Undecided, midway between two alternatives, neither here nor there. For example, I'm betwixt and between canceling my trip entirely or just postponing it, or Jane is betwixt and between about accepting the offer. The adverb betwixt, originally meaning “by two,” is seldom heard except in this expression, first recorded in 1832.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.