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# wherefore

«wherefore» in Mova's school dictionary: **Why; for what reason** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb (wherefore — old-fashioned); noun (the whys and wherefores)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (old-fashioned) Why; for what reason. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#m1)

2) (old-fashioned) Therefore; for that reason. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#m2)

3) The whys and wherefores: all the reasons and details. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In literature, Juliet in Shakespeare's play says «Wherefore art thou Romeo?» which means «Why are you Romeo?» (why are you from that family?), not «Where are you?». In modern talk it is used only in «the whys and wherefores». Phrases: the whys and wherefores.

### examples

- «Wherefore art thou Romeo?» asks why he is Romeo, not where he is. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x1)
- I don't need all the whys and wherefores, just tell me what happened. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x2)
- Wherefore do you weep? (old) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x3)
- The teacher explained the whys and wherefores of the rule. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x4)
- In old plays, wherefore means why. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x5)
- (old) He was tired, wherefore he went to bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x6)
- "Wherefore did ye tarry so long?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/#x7)

### note

A famous trap: wherefore does NOT mean where. Today it is very rare except in fixed phrases and quotations.

### In the corpora

- [He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: 'Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.255/)
- [Wherefore the well was called 'Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.411/)
- [Wherefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.572/)
- [And they said unto him: 'Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.1444/)
- [Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying: 'Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.131/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «wherefore» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wherefore/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.