# among

> English word · Preposition · IPA /əˈmʌŋ/ · frequency rank #486

## Definitions
1. Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).
2. Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).
3. Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).
4. Of a person or thing: in the midst of and surrounded by (other people or things).
5. Of an event or a fact.
6. Of an event or a fact.
7. Of an event or a fact.
8. Of an event or a fact.
9. Of an event or a fact.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Old English on
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Germanic *ga-
Proto-West Germanic *ga-
Old English ġe-
Old English mang
Old English ġemang
Old English onġemang
Old English amang
Middle English among
English among
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”)

## Easily confused with
- **Ang** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-ang)
- **Amos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-amos)
- **Avon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-avon)
- **anon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-anon)
- **Amor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-amor)
- **Aron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-aron)
- **Aung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-aung)
- **axon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-axon)
- **amour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-amour)
- **atone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-atone)
- **amount** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-amount)
- **arming** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-arming)
- **amongst** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/among-vs-amongst)
- **amen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/amen-vs-among)
- **amin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/amin-vs-among)
- **amok** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/amok-vs-among)
- **Alon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alon-vs-among)
- **aeon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/aeon-vs-among)
- **along** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/along-vs-among)
- **alone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/alone-vs-among)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ammong`, `amnog`, `amogn`, `amongg`, `amonng`, `aomng`, `maong`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/among