Where does “thereby” come from?
Thereby comes from English "there" and "by," combining two prepositions to mean "by that means" or "by that."
thereby (English): By it; by that; by that means, or as a...
Definitions
- By it; by that; by that means, or as a...
Ancestry of “thereby”, step by step
thereby traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
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 |