Among means surrounded by, or in the middle of, several things. Among the trees, among friends, among the best in the country.
The pair to learn it against is between, and the traditional rule is that between takes two and among takes more. The better rule is that between is used where each thing is considered separately — an agreement between four countries — and among where the group is treated as a mass. Amongst is the same word and is more common in British English and slightly more formal; neither is wrong. Note among other things, a very useful hedge in writing.
1prepositionamongSurrounded by, or in the middle of.
“The cottage is hidden among the trees.”
2prepositiongroupIn the group of.
“She is among the best in the country.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
among is a position within a group.
Old English on gemang meant in a crowd, from gemang, a mixture or throng. Among is literally in the mingling, and mingle is from the same root — so being among people is being mixed in with them.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂en-
Middle English
among
English, today
among
Built from
From Middle English among. The is derived from Middle English among, amang, amange, amonge (“in the presence of, amid, among; in, within; between; during”), from Old English amang, onġemang, from on (“on, among, in”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- (“on, onto”)) + ġemang (“crowd; mixture”) (from ġe- (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- + mong. The 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: see further above.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA