Where does “hereby” come from?
Hereby comes from Old English be, a preposition meaning "by" or "near," combined with here, itself from Old English her meaning "here."
hereby (English): Near this place; nearby; By this means, action or...
Definitions
- Near this place; nearby; By this means, action or...
Ancestry of “hereby”, step by step
hereby traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Here
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Here | In, on, or at this place (a place perceived to be close to the speaker); compare there |
| 2 | Middle English | hēr | a hair |
| 3 | Old English | hēr | at this place |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *hēr | here |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hē₂r | here, in this place |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 7 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 8 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 9 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English by
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | by | Near or next to; From one side of something to... |
| 2 | Middle English | by | be |
| 3 | Old English | bī | lullaby!; near, by; by, near, around |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | bī | by, at; near, around |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bi | by, at; near, around |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂m̥bʰi | around, on either side of, about; in exchange... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂n̥tbʰi | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂énts | forehead; front |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ent- | face; forehead; front |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |