BOTH

I. ˈbōth adjective

Etymology: Middle English bothe, bathe, from Old Norse bāthir, adjective & pron.; akin to Old High German beide, bēde both; both from a prehistoric North Germanic-West Germanic compound whose first constituent is akin to Old English bēgen, bā, bū both, Gothic bai, ba, Latin ambo, Greek amphō, Sanskrit ubhau both, Greek amphi around, and whose second constituent is a demonstrative pronoun or definite article (whence English the ) — more at by , the

: being the two : involving the one and the other — used prepositively with an unmodified noun

both planes

or with a noun modified by a demonstrative pronoun

both these armies

or a possessive

both his eyes

or other attributive word

II. pronoun

Etymology: Middle English bothe, bathe, from Old Norse bāthir, adjective & pron.

: the one and the other : the two without excepting either : the one as well as the other — used (1) alone

I want both

or (2) with of and a pronoun

both of us

or noun

both of the books

though with a noun many prefer instead the adjectival form for formal use

both books

or (3) appositionally with a pronoun

we were both happy

or noun

English and French are both widely used

III. conjunction

Etymology: Middle English bothe, bathe, from bothe, bathe, adjective

— used as a function word to indicate and stress the inclusion of each of two or more things specified by coordinated words, phrases, or clauses, its position being usually before the first element while the last element is usually preceded by and

both New York and London

speaking both with kindness and with understanding

they were happy both when you arrived and when you left

both a musician, an archaeologist, and an anti-Fascist — Cyril Connolly