withal

English

Alternative forms

• withall (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English withal, withalle; equivalent to with +‎ all, used in place of earlier Old English mid ealle.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /wɪˈðɔːl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /wɪˈðɑl/, /wɪˈðɔl/
• Rhymes: -ɔːl

  • Audio (UK)

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Postposition

withal

1. (archaic) Synonym for with, appearing at the end of a clause or sentence, after the object.
   • 1844, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rappaccini's Daughter‎^[1]:

     [He has] produced new varieties of poison, more horribly deleterious than Nature […] would ever have plagued the world withal.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:withal.

Adverb

withal (not comparable)

1. (archaic) All things considered; nevertheless; besides
   • 1907, Parker, Gilbert, The Weavers:

     Yet, withal, David was the true altruist.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:

     Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. […] A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes. […] But withal there was a perceptible acumen about the man which was puzzling in the extreme.

   • 1918, Burroughs, Edgar Rice, The Land that Time Forgot‎^[2], HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008:

     So-al was a mighty fine-looking girl, built like a tigress as to strength and sinuosity, but withal sweet and womanly.

2. (obsolete) With this; with that.
   • c. 1589-93, Shakespeare, William, The Two Gentlemen of Verona‎^[3], Act II, Scene vii:

     […] I fear me he will scarce be pleased withal.

   • c. 1610-11, Shakespeare, William, The Tempest‎^[4], Act III, Scene i:

     So glad of this as they I cannot be,
     Who are surpris'd withal, but my rejoicing
     At nothing can be more. […]

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:withal.

Synonyms

• (all things considered): even so, nonetheless; see also Thesaurus:nevertheless