wherefore

English Edit

Alternative forms Edit

wherefor

Etymology Edit

From Middle English wherfor, wherfore, hwarfore, equivalent to where- (“what”) +‎ for. Compare Dutch waarvoor (“what for, wherefore”), German wofür (“for what, what for, why”), Danish and Norwegian hvorfor (“wherefore, why”), Swedish varför (“wherefore, why”). More at where, for.

Pronunciation Edit

enPR: wâ(r)'fô(r)", hwâ(r)'fô(r)", IPA^(key): /ˈwɛə(ɹ)ˌfɔː(ɹ)/, /ˈʍɛə(ɹ)ˌfɔː(ɹ)/
- Audio (Southern England) (file)
(obsolete) enPR: hwûr'fôr", IPA^(key): /ˈʍɜːɹˌfɔːɹ/^[1]
Rhymes: -eə(ɹ)fɔː(ɹ)
Hyphenation: where‧fore

Adverb Edit

wherefore (not comparable)

(conjunctive, interrogative, archaic) Why, for what reason, because of what.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Juliet. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, published 1597, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
  Ah, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? / Denie thy Father, and refuſe thy name, / Or if thou wilt not be but ſworne my loue, / And il'e no longer be a Capulet.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 11, column 2:
  VVherefore weepe you?
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 21:7, column 1:
  Wherefore doe the wicked liue, become old, yea, are mightie in power?
- 1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter II, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume III, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 27:
  And if he preached other than the right doctrine, wherefore did his superiors in the Carthusian convent permit it? If the shepherds turn a wolf in sheep's clothing into the flock, they should not blame the sheep for being worried.
- 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:
  "Good morning, Mrs. Denny," he said. "Wherefore this worried look on your face? Has that reprobate James been misbehaving himself?"
(conjunctive, indicative, archaic or formal) Therefore.
- 2010 March 17, House of the United States, House Resolution 1031‎^[2]:
  Wherefore, Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.

Usage notes Edit

A common misconception is that wherefore means where; it is occasionally so used in retellings of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—often for comedic effect. In Romeo and Juliet, the meaning of “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Act II, scene ii, line 33) is not “Where are you, Romeo?” but “Why are you Romeo?” (“Why do you have to be a Montague?”, that is, a member of the family which was feuding with Juliet’s family).^[2]

Conjunction Edit

wherefore

(archaic) Because of which.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 30:12–13, column 1:
  Wherefore, thus ſaith the holy one of Iſrael, Becauſe ye deſpise this word, and truſt in oppreſſion and peruerſeneſſe, and ſtay thereon: Therefore this iniquitie ſhalbe to you as a breach ready to fall, ſwelling out in a high wall, whoſe breaking commeth ſuddenly at an inſtant.
- 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mucker‎^[3], All-Story Cavalier Weekly:
  Wherefore it was that by the time the authorities awoke to the fact that something had happened Billy Byrne was fifty miles west of Joliet, bowling along aboard a fast Santa Fe freight.

Translations Edit

because of which

Bulgarian: защо (bg) (zašto), по каква причина (po kakva pričina)
Czech: pročež (cs)
Danish: hvorfor (da)
Dutch: waarom (nl), waarvoor (nl)
Finnish: minkä vuoksi, miksi (fi)
French: d’où (fr)
Georgian: რატომ (raṭom), რისთვის (ristvis)
German: warum (de), weswegen (de), wofür (de)
Gothic: 𐌳𐌿𐌸𐌸𐌴 (duþþē)
Greek: γιατί (el) (giatí)
Ancient: τοιγάρ (toigár), διό (dió), ᾗ (hêi)
Hebrew: למה‎ (he) (lama), מדוע‎ (he) (madua)
Italian: perché (it)
Japanese: 何故 (ja) (naniyue, naze)
Norwegian: hvorfor (no)
Nynorsk: korfor, kvifor (nn)
Polish: dlaczego (pl)
Portuguese: por quê (pt)
Russian: почему́ (ru) (počemú), отчего (ru) (otčevo)
Spanish: por qué (es)
Swedish: varför (sv)
Turkish: niçin (tr)
Ukrainian: чому́ (uk) (čomú), з тако́ї причи́ни (z takóji pryčýny)
Welsh: paham
West Frisian: wêrom

Noun Edit

wherefore (plural wherefores)

An intent or purpose; a why.
- c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 88, column 2:
  Ant[ipholus of Syracuse]. Shall I tell you why? / S. Dro. [Dromio of Syracuse] I, ſir, and wherefore; for they ſay, euery why hath a wherefore.
- 1996, Richard Bausch, Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America, and All the Ships at Sea, page 72:
  They want their money without reference to the hows and wherefores.

Derived terms Edit

whys and wherefores

References Edit

^ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎^[1], volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 4.36, page 124.
^ Gary Martin (1997–), “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 26 February 2017.

[1] Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎^[1], volume I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 4.36, page 124.

[2] Gary Martin (1997–), “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 26 February 2017.

[1]

[2]