Etymologically
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hereby

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /hɪəˈbʌɪ/[1]
  • US: /hɪɹˈbaɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English here + by, from the adverb and the preposition.[2][3][4][5][6] The OED compares Middle Dutch hierbi, Middle Low German hirbi, Dutch hierbij, Middle High German hierbî and German hierbei, formed in the same way.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In connection with this: about 1230, in Hali Meidenhad, a sense obsolete by about 1250.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-13th century, in the sense "near here, nearby".[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word was used of place: "by or near this place, close by" is recorded before 1325, and "past this place" about 1400;[2][5] Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost has Hereby, upon the edge of yonder coppice, and the local sense was obsolete by the mid-17th century.[5][2][4] The sense that survives, "by means of this, as a result of this", is recorded from about 1320,[2][3] and Johnson (1755) defined the word simply as "by this".[6] It is now used mainly in formal statements, proclamations and legal documents.[7][4] The OED notes that the stress shifts with the word's position, I ˈhereby promise beside I promise hereˈby.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1230 – in connection with this (obsolete).[2]
  • before 1325 – by or near this place, close by (obsolete by 1655).[2]
  • c. 1320 – by this means; as a result of this.[2][3]
  • c. 1400 – past this place (obsolete).[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. By means of this, or as a result of this, especially in formal or legal statements: The meeting is hereby adjourned.[7][4][2]
  2. (obsolete, 1325–1655) Near this place; close by.[2][5][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins