A.Word.A.Day--wherefore

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The Magic of Words

Nov 16, 2010

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Adverbs

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wherefore

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

wherefore

PRONUNCIATION:

(HWAIR-for)

MEANING:

adverb: For what reason?
noun: Reason or purpose.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Middle English, a combination of where + for. The word often appears in the phrase "the whys and wherefores (of something)", meaning its reasons. First recorded use: c. 1200.

USAGE:

"Love is the most dunderheaded of all the passions; it never will listen to reason. The very rudiments of logic are unknown to it. 'Love has no wherefore,' says one of the Latin poets."
Edward Bulwer-Lytton; Kenelm Chillingly; 1873.

Explore "wherefore" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it. -J.M. Barrie, novelist and playwright (1860-1937)

Orijinz is a perfect holiday gift! "I've been playing the word game Orijinz ..lot of fun" -Jim Horne, NY Times

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