Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Wherewith |
WherewithAdverb1. Out of, or by means of which; "tools wherewith to scrape the windshield of my car". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "wherewith" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Synonym: WherewithSynonym: wherewithal (adv). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Means | Adverb: by means of, with; by what means, by all means, by any means, by some means; wherewith, herewith, therewith; wherewithal. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Wherewith |
| English words defined with "wherewith": wherewithal. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "wherewith": Dog ♦ Female ♦ JESTER ♦ Quern-Biter ♦ Salt Losing its Savour ♦ WEAKNESSES. (references) |
| Author | Quotation |
Robert Browning | Mothers, wives, and maids -- there be the tools wherewith priests manage men. |
St. Augustine | Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Magna Carta | 1215 | Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent for any debt, as long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy the debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail to pay the debt, having nothing wherewith to pay it, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and let them have the lands and rents of the debtor, if they desire them, until they are indemnified for the debt which they have paid for him, unless the principal debtor can show proof that he is discharged thereof as against the said sureties. (reference) |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | We by no means intend to abolish this personal appropriation of the products of labour, an appropriation that is made for the maintenance and reproduction of human life, and that leaves no surplus wherewith to command the labour of others. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify, himself |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Have the wherewith to strike |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | FEMALE, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex. The Maker, at Creation's birth, With living things had stocked the earth. From elephants to bats and snails, They all were good, for all were males. But when the Devil came and saw He said: "By Thine eternal law Of growth, maturity, decay, These all must quickly pass away And leave untenanted the earth Unless Thou dost establish birth" -- Then tucked his head beneath his wing To laugh -- he had no sleeve -- the thing With deviltry did so accord, That he'd suggested to the Lord. The Master pondered this advice, Then shook and threw the fateful dice Wherewith all matters here below Are ordered, and observed the throw; Then bent His head in awful state, Confirming the decree of Fate. From every part of earth anew The conscious dust consenting flew, While rivers from their courses rolled To make it plastic for the mould. Enough collected (but no more, For niggard Nature hoards her store) He kneaded it to flexible clay, While Nick unseen threw some away. And then the various forms He cast, Gross organs first and finer last; No one at once evolved, but all By even touches grew and small Degrees advanced, till, shade by shade, To match all living things He'd made Females, complete in all their parts Except (His clay gave out) the hearts. "No matter," Satan cried; "with speed I'll fetch the very hearts they need" -- So flew away and soon brought back The number needed, in a sack. That night earth range with sounds of strife -- Ten million males each had a wife; That night sweet Peace her pinions spread O'er Hell -- ten million devils dead! G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Wherewith" is generally used as an adverb (wh-) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Wherewith" is used about 3 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adverb (wh-) | 100% | 3 | 202,518 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Language | Translations for "wherewith"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | me të cilën. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | с който (that, wherewithal). (various references) | |
Czech | èímž (thereby, whereby). (various references) | |
French | par lequel (whereby), avec quoi. (various references) | |
German | womit (by which, whereby, with what, with which). (various references) | |
Greek | με αυτό, με το οποίο (by which, whereupon). (various references) | |
Hungarian | amivel (whereby). (various references) | |
Italian | con cui (whereby). (various references) | |
Manx | ry cur. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | erewithwhay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | recurso (asset, expedient, health-resort, means, obsecration, recourse, refuge, remedy, resort, resource, resources, shift), possibilidade (chance, energy, if, likelihood, odds, perhaps, possibility, potential, power, probability), por meio do qual, meio (average, center, centre, device, entourage, expedient, half, handle, intermedium, mean, means, medium, middle, midst, navel, organ, remedy, resource, resources, surroundings, vehicle), com que (with what, with which, withal), com o qual, após o que (thereupon, therewith). (various references) | |
Romanian | cum (although, as, because, directly, haw, how, like, such as, what, what a .., whereby, why), cu care, în ce fel. (various references) | |
Russian | чем (before, for no fewer than, lower than, more then, much better than, much better then, much faster then, much more than, much more then, not much better than, than), с помощью чего. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | kojim, čim (as, as soon as, once). (various references) | |
Spanish | con lo cual. (various references) | |
Swedish | varmed (whereby). (various references) | |
Turkish | ne ile, nasıl (how), -dığı yere (where), -dığı yerde. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | за допомогою чого. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | bằng cái đó. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Luke Chapter 17, Verse 8 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | All ouci erei autw etoimason ti deipnhsw kai perizwsamenoV diakonei moi ewV fagw kai piw kai meta tauta fagesai kai piesai su |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et non dicet ei para quod cenem et praecinge te et ministra mihi donec manducem et bibam et post haec tu manducabis et bibes |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | And ne segð him gearw þæt ic ete and gyrt þe and þena me þa hwile. þe ic ete and drince and syððan þu ytst and drincst; |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And seith not to hym, Make redi, that Y soupe, and girde thee, and serue me, while Y ete and drynke, and aftir this thou schalt ete and drynke; |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And wolde not rather saye to him dresse wherwith I maye sup and gyrde vp thy selfe and serve me tyll I have eaten and dronken: and afterwarde eate thou and drinke thou? |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And will not rather say to him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drank; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Will he not say, Get a meal for me, and make yourself ready and see to my needs till I have had my food and drink; and after that you may have yours? |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Luke Chapter 17, Verse 8 |
| Cebuano | Dili ba ang iyang pagabuhaton mao hinoon ang pag-ingon kaniya, `Paghikayg akong ipanihapon, ug pamakos ug alagari ako hangtud nga makakaon ug makainom na ako; ug tapus niini mao pay imong pagkaon ug pag-inom`? |
| Chinese | 豈 不 對 他 說 、 給 我 豫 備 晚 飯 、 束 上 帶 子 伺 候 我 、 等 我 喫 喝 完 了 、 " 可 以 喫 喝 麼 。 |
| Croatian | Neæe li mu naprotiv reæi: 'Pripravi što æu veèerati pa se pripaši i poslužuj mi dok jedem i pijem; potom æeš ti jesti i piti?' |
| Danish | Vil han ikke tværtimod sige til ham: Tilbered, hvad jeg skal have til Nadver, og bind op om dig, og vart mig op, medens jeg spiser og drikker; og derefter må du spise og drikke? |
| Dutch | Maar zal hij niet tot hem zeggen: Bereid, dat ik te avond zal eten, en omgord u, en dien mij, totdat ik zal gegeten en gedronken hebben; en eet en drink gij daarna? |
| Finnish | Eikö hän pikemminkin sano hänelle: `Valmista minulle ateria, vyöttäydy ja palvele minua, sillä aikaa kuin minä syön ja juon; ja sitten syö ja juo sinä`? |
| French | Ne lui dira-t-il pas au contraire: Prépare-moi souper, ceins-toi, et sers-moi, jusqu` ce que j`aie mangé et bu; après cela, toi, tu mangeras et boiras? |
| German | Ist's nicht also, daß er zu ihm sagt: Richte zu, was ich zum Abend esse, schürze dich und diene mir, bis ich esse und trinke; darnach sollst du auch essen und trinken? |
| Haitian Creole | Non. Okontrè. L'ap di li: Pare manje pou mwen. Twouse ponyèt ou pou ou ka sèvi m' pandan m'ap manje, pandan m'ap bwè. Se lè m' fin manje, ou menm wa manje, wa bwè. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Tentu tidak! Sebaliknya ia akan berkata kepadanya, 'Sediakan makanan saya. Pakailah pakaian yang bersih dan tungguilah saya sementara saya makan dan minum; setelah itu engkau boleh makan.' |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Bukankah ia akan berkata kepadanya: Siapkan makananku, ikatlah pinggangmu melayani aku, sehingga sudah aku makan minum, baharulah engkau pula makan minum? |
| Italian | Non gli dir piuttosto: Preparami da mangiare, rimboccati la veste e servimi, finché io abbia mangiato e bevuto, e dopo mangerai e berrai anche tu? |
| Maori | A e kore e mea ki a ia, Taka he hapa maku, ka whitiki ai i a koe, ka tuari mai ki ahau, kia mutu ra taku kai, taku inu; a muri iho ka kai ai koe, ka inu ai? |
| Norwegian | Vil han ikke heller si til ham: Gjør i stand det jeg skal ha til aftensmat, og bind op om dig og gå mig til hånde til jeg får ett og drukket, så skal du få ete og drikke? |
| Portuguese | Não lhe dirá antes: Prepara-me a ceia, e cinge-te, e serve-me, até que eu tenha comido e bebido, e depois comerás tu e beberás? |
| Rumanian | Nu -i va zice mai degrabq: ,,Gqtewte-mi sq mqnknc, kncinge-te, wi slujewte-mi pknq voi mknca wi voi bea eu; dupq aceea, vei mknca wi vei bea wi tu?`` |
| Russian | оБ ТПФЙЧ, ОЕ УЛБЦЕФ МЙ ЕНХ: ТЙЗПФПЧШ НОЕ ПХЦЙОБФШ Й, П" ПСУБЧЫЙУШ, УМХЦЙ НОЕ, ПЛБ 'Х"Х ЕУФШ Й ЙФШ, Й ПФПН ЕЫШ Й ЕК УБН? |
| Shuar | Atsá. Antsu, "yurumak iwiarturata. Wi Yurumátin tura umartincha surusminiam iwiarnarta. Nuyá ame Yurumátá." Nu Tíchaintmek. |
| Spanish | Más bien, le dirá: "Prepara para que yo cene. Cíñete y sírveme hasta que yo haya comido y bebido. Después de eso, come y bebe tú." |
| Swahili | La! Atamwambia: `Nitayarishie chakula, ujifunge tayari kunitumikia mpaka nitakapomaliza kula na kunywa, ndipo nawe ule na unywe.` |
| Swedish | Säger han icke fastmer till honom: 'Red till min måltid, och fäst så upp din klädnad och betjäna mig, medan jag äter och dricker; sedan må du själv äta och dricka'? |
| Uma | Uma-hawo. Tantu ta'uli' -ki hewa tohe'i: `Porodo-mi pongkoni' -ku! Moheai-ko to uma babo'. Peka'au-a bula-ku nginu pai' ngkoni'. Oti-a-damo ngkoni', pai' lako' ngkoni' -dako-kowo.' |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "wherewith": wherewithal, wherewithals. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-e-h-h-i-r-t-w-w" | |
-1 letter: herewith. | |
-2 letters: thewier, whether, whither. | |
-3 letters: either, hither, wether, whiter, wither, writhe. | |
-4 letters: ether, hewer, ither, retie, rewet, their, there, three, threw, twier, where, white, withe, write. | |
-5 letters: ewer, heir, here, heth, hire, rete, rite, thee, thew, thir, tier, tire, tree, twee, weer, weet, weir, were, wert, whee, whet, whew, whir, whit, wire, wite, with. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-e-h-h-i-r-t-w-w" | |
+2 letters: wheelwright, wherewithal, whitewasher. | |
+3 letters: wheelwrights, wherewithals, whitewashers. | |
+5 letters: worthwhileness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Quotations: Familiar | 5. Quotations: Historic 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Bible Trace 11. Derivations 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
