wherefore

Etymology

It is formed from English where + for,^[2][3][4] with the first element in the sense "in which position or circumstances",^[2] as wherfore and wherfor,^[5] and hwarfore about 1200.^[2] Similar formations are Dutch waarvoor and Old Norse hvar fyrir.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

For what, especially for what purpose or end: about 1200.^[6][2] The Random House text dates the word 1150–1200,^[7] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to the 13th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word began as an interrogative, "for what?", which by about 1230 also meant "for what cause, why?".^[6] Relative uses, "on account of which", followed by about 1250, and a little later the word introduced a consequence, "for which reason".^[6] The noun came from the question and its answer:^[6][3] Shakespeare has "every why hath a wherefore",^[4][5] and the pairing with why survives in whys and wherefores.^[5][8] Johnson (1755) gives "for which reason" and "for what reason" as the two senses.^[4] The adverb is now archaic or formal,^[8][3][9] and the spelling wherefor is kept for the relative "for which", with a different stress.^[3][6]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – for what; for what purpose.^[6][2]
• c. 1230 – for what cause or reason; why.^[6]
• c. 1250 – on account of which.^[6]
• 1297 – for which.^[6]
• before 1300 – introducing a consequence: for which reason.^[6]
• 1590 – a noun, a reason or cause.^[6][5] The Shorter Oxford dates the noun to the mid 16th century.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (archaic) For what reason; why: Wherefore did they leave so early?^{[8][5][9][10]}
2. (archaic, formal) As a result of which; on account of which.^{[9][11][3][5]}
3. For which (usually spelled wherefor).^[3][6]

Conjunction

1. (archaic, formal) For which reason; therefore, used especially to open a clause in a legal preamble.^[8][5][3]

Noun

1. A reason or explanation, usually plural, as in the whys and wherefores.^[8][5][10]

Related words

• where
• for

Usage notes

Juliet's "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" means "for what reason are you Romeo?", not "where are you?", as the Phrase Finder explains.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Martin, Gary, The Phrase Finder: Meaning and Origin of Phrases, Sayings, Clichés and Quotes, https://www.phrases.org.uk