whereas, rel. adv., conj. (n.)
(hwɛəˈræz)
In early use as two words.
I. As relative adv. or advb. phr.: cf. where that s.v. where II.
† 1. = where 5, 7–11. Obs. or rare arch.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1782 Þei..tok forþ here wey..to sum wildernesse where as þei bredde. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 74 Nat fer fro Pedmark ther his dwellyng was Where as he lyueth. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1966 The helthe of loue[rs] mut be founde Where as they token firste hir wounde. c 1450 Merlin 242 The grete distruxion where-as the kynge Aguysanx hadde I-be. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Collect 4th Sund. aft. Easter, That..oure heartes may surely there be fixed, where as true ioyes are to be founde. 1567 J. Sandford Epictetus 23 Whereas vtilitie is, there is pietie. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xx. 172 Auicularia groweth..in fields amongst wheate, or where as wheate hath growen. 1578 Bible (Geneva) To Rdr., Whereas the Ebrewe speache seemed hardly to agree with ours, we haue noted it in the margent. 1601 Holland Pliny ii. lxxxv. I. 39 All that levell whereas the river Mæander now runneth by goodly medowes. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 12 Ornaments on that upright, whereas the Southerly windes raise much dust. 1868 Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. ii. 655 And quickly too he gat Unto the place whereas the lady sat. |
II. As illative or adversative conjunction.
2. In view or consideration of the fact that; seeing that, considering that, forasmuch as, inasmuch as. (Chiefly, now only, introducing a preamble or recital in a legal or other formal document.)
| 1424 Information against Walter Aslak in Paston Lett. I. 16 Where as the seyd William Paston, by assignement and commaundement of the seyd Duk of Norffolk..was the Styward of the seyd Duc of Norffolk. 1488–9 Act 4 Hen. VII c. 2 Where as it was of old tyme.., that ther was for the weale of the Kyng..Fynours and parters of Gold and Silver [etc.]. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon civ. 345 Where as thou sayest I am a traytoure I shall shewe the how thou lyest. 1539 Bible (Great) 1 Kings viii. 18 Where as it was thyne hert to buylde an house vnto my name, thou dyddest well, that thou wast so mynded. 1635 R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. i. 31 Whereas the Emperour and the Catholicke Princes by many Letters made intercession, that the displaced Bishops might be mercifully dealt withall..shee answered [etc.]. 1713 Act 13 Anne c. 28 §1 Whereas Part of the Highway..is become so very ruinous that [etc.]. 1918 Act 8 Geo. V c. 6 Preamble, And whereas the Army Act will expire in the year, one thousand nine hundred and eighteen on the following days. |
3. Introducing a statement of fact in contrast or opposition to that expressed by the principal clause: While on the contrary; the fact on the other hand being that. (The principal clause usually precedes, but sometimes follows as in 2.)
† In quot. 1542, Notwithstanding that; though (obs.).
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras vii. 5 There are layed vp for vs dwellynges of health & fredome, where as we haue lyued euell. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 7 This knaue, wheras he is the greattest glutton..that maye bee, yet is he the moste idle lubber. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. v. 76, I deriued am From Lionel Duke of Clarence..; whereas hee, From Iohn of Gaunt doth bring his Pedigree. 1631 Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 520 Hee might haue worne the Diadem many yeares, whereas he bare the title of King no longer than two moneths. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones x. iii, Whereas he had received a very handsome fortune with his wife, he had now spent every penny of it. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley xxvi, ‘Yet, they are great whiskered fellows, six feet high each.’ ‘Whereas.., Harry, you will never be anything more than a little pale lameter.’ 1882 Besant All Sorts xxiv, I brought him up in ignorance of his father, whom he had always imagined to be a gentleman; whereas he was only a sergeant in a Line regiment. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 519 Whereas a pinhole has no focus, every lens has a focus. |
III. 4. as n. (from 2). A statement introduced by ‘whereas’; the preamble of a formal document.
| 1795 Coleridge Plot Discov. 23 While the contrary remains unproved, such a Whereas must be a most inadequate ground for the present Bill. 1796 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3) s.v., To follow a whereas; to become a bankrupt..: the notice given in the Gazette that a commission of bankruptcy is issued out against any trader, always beginning with the word whereas. 1804 F. L. Holt Land we live in ii. i. (1805) 30, I am as long-winded as the Whereas of a proclamation. 1863 Gurowski Diary 18 Oct. (1864) 347 A new whereas calling for three hundred thousand volunteers. |