conjunction
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1668, William Lawson, A way to get wealth:You shall also take the fine earth or mould which is found in the hollow of old Willow trees, rising from the root almost to the middle of the Tree, at least so far as the tree is hollow, for than this, there is no earth or mould finer or richer.
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1665, Stillingfleet, Laud, Carwell, A rational account of the grounds of Protestant religion:Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so.
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Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.she's taller than I am; she found his advice more witty than helpful; we have less work today than we had yesterday; it's bigger than I thought it was
preposition
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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.Patients diagnosed more recently are probably surviving an average of longer than two years.
adverb
- (now chiefly dialectal) At that time; then.
Extra examples
He is older than me.
She looks more like a farmer's wife than a revolutionary.
This computer is not used by anyone other than me.
Other than that, nothing happened.
They stayed there for less than an hour.
I had not been off for more than a few minutes.
The beach is more than a mile away.
He is older than I am.
Easier said than done.
I'd sooner go hungry than eat junk food.
I'd like to stay at home this evening rather than go out.
They have not spoken to one another other than by e-mail message.
Hardly / Scarcely had a moment passed than the door creaked open.
No sooner said than done.
Natalie was prettier than her sister.