whereasadv.conj.n.
/wəˈraz/, /wɛːˈraz/, /wɛˈraz/, U.S. /(h)wəˈræz/, /(h)wɛˈræz/ In early use as two words.
I. As relative adverb or adverbial phr.: cf. where adv. and conj.† 1. = where adv. and conj. 5 – 11. Obsolete or rare (archaic).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > [adverb] > there > at the place which
therea800
there therec1000
asc1225
where13..
whereasa1375
whereatc1400
whereinc1400
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1782 Þei..tok forþ here wey..to sum wildernesse where as þei bredde.
c1400 Rom. Rose 1966 The helthe of loue[rs] mut be founde Where as they token firste hir wounde.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 94 Nat fer fro Pedmark ther his dwellyng was Wher as he lyueth.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xv. 242 The grete distruxion where-as the kynge Aguysanx hadde I-be.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. lxiiiiv That..oure heartes maye surely there bee fixed, where as true ioyes are to be founde.
1567 J. Sanford tr. Epictetus Man. 23 Whereas vtilitie is, there is pietie.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 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 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. ii. lxxxv. 39 All that levell whereas the river Mæander now runneth by goodly medowes.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 12 Ornaments on that upright, whereas the Southerly windes raise much dust.
1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise 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.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [conjunction] > seeing that or since
forwhya1400
where1411
whereas1426
seeinga1475
seen1483
fro1535
1426–7 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 10 Where as þe seyd William Paston, by assignement and commaundement of þe seyd Duk of Norffolk..was þe styward of þe 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.].
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) 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.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth 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 George 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 (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > contrariety or contrast > contrariety [conjunction] > whereas
therec1200
wherec1380
thereasc1385
whereas1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Esdras vii. 5 There are layed vp for vs dwellynges of health & fredome, where as we haue lyued euell.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 7 This knaue, wheras he is the greattest glutton..that maye bee, yet is he the moste idle lubber.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. v. 76 I deriued am From Lionel Duke of Clarence..; whereas hee, From Iohn of Gaunt doth bring his Pedigree. View more context for this quotation
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 520 Hee might haue worne the Diadem many yeares, whereas he bare the title of King no longer than two moneths.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. x. iii. 21 Whereas he had received a very handsome Fortune with his Wife, he had now spent every penny of it. View more context for this quotation
1849 C. Brontë Shirley III. iii. 63 ‘Yet, they are great whiskered fellows, six feet high each.’ ‘Whereas..Harry, you will never be anything more than a little pale lameter.’
1882 W. Besant All Sorts of Men II. xxiv. 148 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. As a noun.
4. (From sense 2.) A statement introduced by ‘whereas’; the preamble of a formal document.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > [noun] > paragraph or clause > introduction
preamble1579
whereas1795
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [noun] > instance of
conditionc1380
protestationc1390
butc1405
restrictiona1450
limitationc1475
if1532
conditionary1678
reservation1719
whereas1795
yes but1870
string1888
1795 S. T. Coleridge Plot Discovered 23 While the contrary remains unproved, such a Whereas must be a most inadequate ground for the present Bill.
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) (at cited word) 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 (1805) ii. i. 30 I am as long-winded as the Whereas of a proclamation.
1863 A. Gurowski Diary 18 Oct. (1864) 347 A new whereas calling for three hundred thousand volunteers.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.conj.n.a1375