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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

among

/əˈmʌŋ/
Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).

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    Origin

    The preposition is derived from Middle English among, amang, amange, amonge (“in the presence of, amid, among; in, within; between; during”), from Old English amang, onġemang (preposition), from on (“on, among, in”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“on, onto”)) + ġemang (“crowd; mixture”, noun) (from ġe- (prefix forming nouns denoting association or similarity) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”)) + mang- (from mængan, mengan (“to mingle, mix”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *menk- (“to knead; to press”))). By surface analysis, a- (prefix meaning ‘at; in; on’) + mong (“crowd, throng; group”).

    The adverb is derived from Middle English among, amang (“accompanied by, along with, by the side of, in association with, together; all the while, continually; also, besides; at the same time; from time to time, occasionally; meanwhile; within”), from Old English onġemang (adverb): see further above.

    cognates

    * Dutch mank, maank (“among”)

    * German mang (“among”) (dialectal)

    * German Low German mank, manken (“among”)

    * Saterland Frisian monk, monken (“among”)

    * West Frisian mank (“among”)

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishamong
      • inheritedOld Englishamang
        • derivedOld Englishonġemang
          • partOld Englishon “in”
            • inheritedProto-West Germanic*ana
            • inheritedProto-Germanic*gurwijō “mud”
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*gʷʰer- “to heat, warm”
            • inherited (ultimately)Proto-Germanic*an “on, upon; on to”
          • partOld Englishġemang “mingling”
            • partOld Englishġe-
              • inheritedProto-West Germanic*ga-
                • inheritedProto-Germanic*ga- “with, together”
                • derivedProto-Germanic*ga- “with, together”
            • partOld Englishmang
    • rootProto-Indo-European*h₂en- “on, onto”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*menk- “to rumple, knead”

    Related: Dutch mank, German mang, German Low German mank, Saterland Frisian monk, West Frisian mank

    Meanings

    prep
    1. Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).
    2. Associated with or living alongside (other people or things).
    3. Belonging to (a group comprising similar people or things).
    4. Distinct in some way from (other members of a group); specifically, superior or pre-eminent compared to (other members of a group).
    5. Originally, in the course of; during; now, in the circumstances or context of.
    6. Distributed or divided between (members of a group).
    adv
    1. Along with (someone or something); together.
    2. At the same time, all the while, meanwhile.
    3. In addition, beside.
    4. Chiefly with contrasting adjectives or adverbs: from time to time, now and then; also, here and there.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: among