Etymologically
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herein

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /hɪəˈɹɪn/[1]
  • US: /hɪɹˈɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English herinne,[2][3] inherited from Old English hērinne,[2][4][5] formed from Old English hēr (“here”) + inne (“in, within”).[2][6] The Old English adverb inne was later replaced by in.[6] It matches Middle Dutch hierinne, Dutch hierin, Middle High German hier inne, German hierinne and Swedish härinne.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In here, in this place: in Old English, in Ælfric's Homilies.[6][5]

Semantic evolution

From the place itself the adverb moved to a passage, book or document, "in this", and since about 1225, in the Ancrene Riwle, to "in this matter or respect".[6] Chaucer used herinne twice.[3] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "in this", quoting Hooker and Shakespeare.[7] About 1440 it was briefly used as a noun, this place.[6] It is now a formal word, used especially of documents,[8][9] and the "in this respect" sense is rare.[9]

Timeline

  • Old English – in this place, in Ælfric.[6][5]
  • c. 1225 – in this matter or respect.[6]
  • c. 1440 – as a noun, this place (obsolete).[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (formal) In this document, book or passage: the conditions set out herein.[9][2][8]
  2. (formal) In or into this place: Herein lies the old chapel.[9][2][6]
  3. (rare) In this matter, fact or respect.[9][2][6]

Word family

  • hereinabove
  • hereinbelow
  • hereinafter
  • hereinbefore
  • therein
  • here
  • in

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins