whereby English · revision 39962

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1200}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /wɛə(ɹ)ˈbaɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|enm|wher|bi]], that is [[where]] and [[by]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ By means of which, according to which: about 1200, in the Trinity College Homilies.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the word to about 1200 in the sense "along which, through which",^(Etymonline) which the OED first records in 1297, in Robert of Gloucester's chronicle.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a question word, ''whereby'' meant "by what means? how?" from 1377, in Langland's ''Piers Plowman'',^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) "why?" from before 1375 until the 15th century, and "near what? in what direction?" from before 1450.^(OED 2026) The relative sense "as a result of which", near "so that", is recorded from about 1380, in Wyclif.^(OED 2026) The question use is now rare or obsolete,^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) and Merriam-Webster labels "near or along which" archaic,^(MWU 2024) so that the word now mostly means "by which" or "according to which".^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) In Scotland and in northern and eastern English dialects it was also a conjunction meaning "whereas, on which account".^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – by means of which.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1297 – along or near which.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1377 – by what means? how?^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1380 – as a result of which.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1600 – whereupon, in Shakespeare (now dialectal).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # By which; by means of which; according to which: ''a plan whereby every pupil gets a laptop''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (archaic) By what means? how?^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[whereas]]

+ * [[whereupon]]

+ * [[wherefore]]

+ * [[hereby]]

+ * [[thereby]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}