whereby, adv.
(hwɛəˈbaɪ)
[f. where 15 + by prep.]
I. 1. interrog. a. By, beside, or near what? in what direction? b. By what means? how? (by 29, 30.) † c. For what reason? why? (by 36).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7801 Þat þai bath er slain, quar-bi Wat þou it es sua? c 1350 Will. Palerne 2256 Wharbi seistow so so þe god help? 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 436 Wherby wote men whiche is whyte if alle þinge blake were? a 1450 Myrc Par. Pr. 4 In-to þe dyche þey fallen boo, For þey ne sen whare by to go. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xvi. 297 Be ye a knyght of Cornewaile? where by aske ye hit? said sir Tristram. 1526 Tindale Luke i. 18 Wherby shall I knowe this? 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. i. 9 Clo. Thereby hangs a tale. Mus. Whereby hangs a tale, sir? 1755 Johnson s.v., Whereby wilt thou accomplish thy design? |
II. rel.
2. By means of or by the agency of which; from which (as a source of information); according to which, in the matter of which, etc.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 81 We wolden sen sum fortocne of þe, Warbi we mihten cnowen ȝif it soð were þat þu seist. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 573 Mete quorbi ðei miȝten liuen. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 40 Lyflode..Wher-of or wherfore or where-by to lybbe. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 294 A staf, wherby, he seide, he wolde That Adrian him scholde holde. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 195 Summe spyritual visyon wherby þat he myȝt haue ben confortyd yn sowle. 1450–1520 Myrr. our Ladye ii. 234 A starre of Iacob wherby ys vnderstonde oure lorde iesu cryste. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Jer. xxxiii. 8, I will cleanse them from all their iniquitie, whereby they haue sinned against me. 1584 J. Melvill Autob. & Diary (Wodrow Soc.) 192 The absolut power, wharbe..the haill privileges of the thrie Esteates of the Realme is weakned. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. iii. §3 The rationall evidence of that divine authority whereby Moses acted. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 411 Every lower facultie Of sense, whereby they hear, see, smell, touch, taste. 1697 in Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 516 His Return of rep[re]sentatives for Council was produced, qrby it appeared [etc.]. 1709 Berkeley Th. Vision §61 Stated Lengths, whereby we measure Objects. 1794 R. J. Sulivan View Nat. II. 92 An universal plastic power, whereby every body in nature receives its..specific form. 1883 Whitelaw Sophocles, Ajax 1025 This..sword-point—this whereby Ebbed out thy life. 1918 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Mar. 122/2 There is no convention in war whereby the loser can convert disaster into stalemate. |
3. In consequence of, as a result of, or owing to which; from which (as a cause or reason); wherefore; sometimes practically equivalent to ‘so that’, ‘in order that’. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 310 Þise men lousen crist þat maken hise membris heere special patrouns, & leuen to haue crist oonliche heere patroun, werbi þei louen lasse crist. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. c. 49 b/1 The table rounde, wherby sprange the fame of so many noble knightes through out all the worlde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, It was put in to my mynde to drawe it in the englysshe tonge, wherby it myght be the more accepte to many. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, v. i. 67 We were inforc'd for safety sake, to..raise this present Head, Whereby we stand opposed by such meanes As you your selfe haue forg'd against your selfe. 1632 Lithgow Trav. v. 232 Wee buried the slayne people in deep graues, whereby Iackals should not open vp their graues. 1678 Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. ii. §81. 472/2 He was suddenly seised with a Cancer in the Reins of his back, whereby he rotted above ground. 1844 Hood Univ. Feud 105 Whereby it so may happen as that neither of them Scholars May be the proper Chairman for the Glorious Apollers! 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xv, I ought to be..going peacefully to bed, whereby I should wake up with a clear head. |
b. Upon which, whereupon. dial. ? Obs.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. i. 104 Goodwife Keech..telling vs she had a good dish of Prawnes; whereby y{supu} didst desire to eat some: whereby I told thee they were ill for a greene wound. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxiv, Whereby he told the captain that..he would heave him overboard. Ibid., We heard firing, whereby we made for the place. |
4. Beside or near which; along, through, or over which. Now rare.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 21 Wateres..Ȝware bi þe ssipes mowe come fram þe se. 14.. Master of Game xix. (MS. Digby 182), A kenell shulde haue a gutter or two, wherby alle þe pisse of þe houndes..may renne oute. 1586 Lloyd Pilgr. Princes 154 b, Hee..hideth him selfe vnder some..rocke, or any other place, whereby hee semeth to bee. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. I. 293 He occupies and standes in a way quhairby the men of weir fled. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. xxxiii, The brawling brook, where-by..glide the sauntering hours With a calm languor. 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 359 Fear..wing'd Her transit to the throne, whereby she fell Delivering seal'd dispatches. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Feb. 10 At Aphrodite's golden gate—whereby They came as night was close on twilight dim. |