than

Etymology

From Middle English than, thanne, from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne (“then, since, because”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“at that, at that time, then”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“demonstrative pronoun, that”). Cognate with Dutch dan (“than”), German denn (“than”), German dann (“then”). Doublet of then.

conj

1. Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. 2013-07-20, “Old Soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
   Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so. 1665, Edward Stillingfleet, William Laud, Thomas Carwell, A Rational Account of the Grounds of Protestant Religion
   she's taller than I am; she found his advice more witty than helpful; we have less work today than we had yesterday; We had no choice than to return home
2. (obsolete outside dialects, usually used with for) Because; for.
   If thou say yes, then puttest thou on Christ (that is, the wisdome of God, the Father) unkunning, unpower, or euil will: for than he could not make his rule so good as an other did his. 1854, Reformation series
   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. 1668, William Lawson, A Way to Get Wealth

prep

1. 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.
   No player is more skillful than Greg.

adv

1. (now chiefly dialectal or a misspelling) At that time; then.