whereatadv.
/wəˈrat/, /wɛːˈrat/, /wɛˈrat/, U.S. /(h)wəˈræt/, /(h)wɛˈræt/ Now formal or archaic.
1. interrogative: At what? rare.In first quot. apparently = for what cause or reason, wherefore: cf. at prep. 34, 37.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [adverb] > why, wherefore, or for what reason
for whyc1000
whereofc1175
wheretoa1225
whereforec1230
whereata1325
how1340
wheretilla1400
whereupon1535
wherebya1616
whaffor1922
the world > existence and causation > causation > [adverb] > at what
whereat?a1500
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3237 Qvað god, ‘quor-at calles ðu me?’
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Cock & Fox l. 571 in Poems (1981) 26 Now iuge ȝe all quhairat schir Lowrence lewch.
1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus i. iii. sig. Gj Thou wottest fulle lyttell wherat thou reioysest.
c1550 Adam Bel & Clym of Clough cxlvii ‘I hold hym neuer no good archar That shuteth at buttes so wyde.’ ‘Wherat?’ then sayd our kyng.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Whereat are you offended?
2. relative. At which.
a. in local and allied senses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > [adverb] > there > at the place which
therea800
there therec1000
asc1225
where13..
whereasa1375
whereatc1400
whereinc1400
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxvi. 121 A wyndowe, whare at þe light commez in.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ii. viii. 33 A litle ȝett..Quhairat was wont alane Andromacha To entir.
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. h iv Giff ȝow wald knaw ye dominicall lettre of ony hundereth ȝere, quhairat ye ordre of ye first table according to ye awld kallendar is interrupted.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage v. xi. 425 At this Cart hang many..Ropes, whereat all the people hale and pull.
1626 W. Gouge Dignitie Chivalrie §1 Take notice of the generall Scope whereat the Holy Ghost aimeth in this Chapter.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 84/2 The Pit or Hole, from the Body, or stock there is whereat the branches sprout out.
1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard ii. i. 78 Albeit I think Ye have caught the mark whereat my heart is bent.
1891 C. T. C. James Romantic Rigmarole 27 I returned to the spot whereat the Squire kept dreary watch.
b. in reference to occasion or cause.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [adverb] > at which (cause or occasion)
whereat1535
1535 G. Joye Apol. Tindale sig. B.ijv Wherat many were offended.
1599 T. Storer Life & Death Wolsey sig. F4 What had the wiser sort whereat to smile?
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 389 With full assent They vote: whereat his speech he thus renews. View more context for this quotation
1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 205 Whereat his horse did snort, as he Had heard a lion roar.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. xlvi. 52 Nell could not help weeping..; whereat..the simple schoolmaster shed a few tears himself.
1897 J. L. Allen Choir Invisible ii. 16 The inventor..said..that..he would demonstrate by his own model that some day navigation would be by steam: whereat they all laughed kindly at him for a dreamer.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.a1325