Advertisement

Origin and history of therefore

therefore(adv.)

Middle English ther-fore, from Old English þærfore; from there + fore, Old English and Middle English collateral form of for.

Since c. 1800, therefor has tended to be used in the sense of "for that, by reason of that," and therefore in the sense of "in consequence of that." Similar formation in Dutch daarvoor, German dafür, Danish derfor. Middle English also had a variant thereforn "for that reason" (mid-13c.).

Entries linking to therefore

for(prep.)

Old English for "before, in the sight of, in the presence of; as far as; during, before; on account of, for the sake of; in place of, instead of," from Proto-Germanic *fur "before; in" (source also of Old Saxon furi "before," Old Frisian for, Middle Dutch vore, Dutch voor "for, before;" German für "for;" Danish for "for," før "before;" Gothic faur "for," faura "before"), from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before," etc.

From late Old English as "in favor of." For and fore differentiated gradually in Middle English. For alone as a conjunction, "because, since, for the reason that; in order that" is from late Old English, probably a shortening of common Old English phrases such as for þon þy "therefore," literally "for the (reason) that."

there(adv., conj.)

Old English þær "in or at that definite place;" also "so far as, provided that, in that respect" (as to say "at that point of progress or proceeding"); from Proto-Germanic *thær (source also of Old Saxon thar, Old Frisian ther, Middle Low German dar, Middle Dutch daer, Dutch daar, Old High German dar, German da, Gothic þar, Old Norse þar). This is reconstructed to be from PIE *tar- "there" (source also of Sanskrit tar-hi "then"), from root *to- (see the) + adverbial suffix *-r.

Use as an indefinite grammatical subject (a fool there was) dates to Old English. Interjectional use to call attention to something ("like that!") is recorded from 1530s, variously emphasizing certainty, encouragement, or consolation. There, there as an expression of consolation is attested by 1872.

In brusque or casual address (hey, there; you, there) it is attested by 1580s. There he (or she) goes, calling attention to a way of acting, talking, etc., is by 1780. There it is expressing simplicity or consummation is by 1857.

That there as an emphatic of that is attested by 1742, a colloquial pleonasm, as though that (one) there; New England dialectal pronunciation at air (with em air) is by 1835. To have been there "had previous experience of (some activity)" is recorded from 1877. To be all there (colloquial) "have one's faculties or wits" is by 1864.

therefor(adv.)

"for this, for that, for it," Middle English variant spelling of therefore (q.v.); in modern use perhaps perceived as there + for.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    hence
    "(away) from here," late 13c., hennes, with adverbial genitive -s + Old English heonan "away, hence," from West Germanic *hin- (source also of Old Saxon hinan, Old High German hinnan, German hinnen), from PIE *ki-, variant of root *ko- "this," the stem of the demonstrative pronou
    thence
    late 13c., from Old English þanone, þanon "from that place" + adverbial genitive -es. Old English þanone/þanon is from Proto-Germanic *thanana (source also of Old Saxon thanana, Old Norse þana, Old Frisian thana, Old High German danana, German von dannen), related obscurely to th
    so
    Middle English so, from Old English swa, swæ (adv., conj., pron.) "in this way, in such a manner that," also "to that extent; so as, consequently, therefore," and purely intensive; from Proto-Germanic *swa (source also of Old Saxon, Middle Dutch, Old High German so, Old Norse sva
    illative
    1610s, "stating or introducing an inference" (of words such as because, then, therefore); 1630s, "inferential, arising from...
    vengeance
    Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon...
    sprightly
    "Sprightly is the common spelling, the literal meaning and therefore the proper form of the word being lost from view" [Century...
    lectio difficilior
    alternative manuscript readings, the one whose meaning is less obvious is less likely to be a copyist's alteration, and therefore...
    fore
    Old English fore (prep.) "before, in front of, in presence of; because of, for the sake of; earlier in time; instead of;" as an adverb, "before, previously, formerly, once," from Proto-Germanic *fura "before" (source also of Old Saxon fora, Old Frisian fara, Old High German fora,
    agony
    late 14c., "mental suffering" (especially that of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), from Old French agonie, agoine "anguish, terror, death agony" (14c.), and directly from Late Latin agonia, from Greek agōnia "a struggle for victory" (in wrestling, etc.), in a general sense "e
    contingent
    late 14c., "depending upon circumstances, not predictable with certainty, provisionally liable to exist," from Old French contingent or directly from Latin contingentem (nominative contingens) "happening; touching," in Medieval Latin "possible, contingent," present participle of

    Share therefore

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near therefore
    Advertisement