Bitwixe

Part of speech: preposition

Definitions

1. An archaic form of betwixt, meaning in the space or position separating two things or people
2. Obsolete preposition indicating a place in the middle of two points, objects, or groups
3. Old-fashioned word for between, used to show something located within a gap that separates two items

Etymology: "Bitwixe" is a Middle English spelling of "betwixt," meaning "between." The final "e" was a common spelling habit of the period, and scribes spelled the vowel in different ways, so the same word also appears as "betwix" and "betwixt." The word goes back to Old English "betwux" and "betweox," built from the prefix "be-" and a stem related to "two." That stem is the same one behind "twain," so the core idea is "between two things." Over the centuries the word faded from everyday speech, and today it survives mainly in set phrases like "betwixt and between."