Where does “wherewithal” come from?
Wherewithal derives from Middle English where with all, from Old English hwǣr meaning "at what place," combined with all to express means or resources for accomplishing something.
wherewithal (English): The ability and means required to accomplish some...
Definitions
- The ability and means required to accomplish some...
Ancestry of “wherewithal”, step by step
wherewithal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English withal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | withal | 1844, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rappaccini's... |
| 2 | Middle English | withal | — |
| 3 | Middle English | wiþ | with |
| 4 | Old English | wiþ | against, opposite; along, towards; with |
| 5 | Old English | wiþer | toward, against; again, against; against, in... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | wiþr | toward, against |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wiþrą | toward, against |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wī-tero- | further apart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wi | apart, asunder; away from, against |
via English where
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | where | While on the contrary; although; whereas; At or... |
| 2 | Middle English | wher | where |
| 3 | Old English | hwǣr | where |
| 4 | Old English | -a | Ending forming adverbs; nominative masculine... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ō | Creates feminine nouns from roots and stems |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |