adverb / adjective / noun

then

THEN/ðen/

At or following the time already indicated.

Someone plants a seed in a pot, then waters it.

Two adjacent vignettes of one East Asian adult planting a seed and then watering the planted pot, one simple directional arrow, no text.

Etymology

thenOld Englishat that time; in that case

Old English þonne pointed to a time or circumstance. The later meaning 'afterward, next in order' turns that time-reference into a step in a sequence.

In context

MondeTar32:05

Then comes Wings of a Dove, Chancellor and Panama Pete who comes next.

Barbados Cockspur/Sandy Lane Gold Cups 1982/1999

More examples

We lived in Denver in 2010, and I taught there then.
The meeting starts at noon; I can wait until then.
The then mayor approved the new library.

Similar words

afterward: Refers only to a following time, never the same time.
next: Specifies the immediately following step or event in a sequence.