wherefore

/ˈwɛəˌfɔː/

Etymology

From Middle English wherfor, wherfore, hwarfore, equivalent to where- (“what”) + for. Compare Dutch waarvoor (“what for, wherefore”), German wofür (“for what, what for, why”), Danish and Norwegian hvorfor (“wherefore, why”), Swedish varför (“wherefore, why”). More at where, for.

wherefore means why, for what reason, because of what. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 75 out of 100.

wherefore is pronounced /ˈwɛəˌfɔː/.

Why “wherefore” is a great word

WHEREFORE — [Adverb] For what reason or why; also, as a result of which. From Middle English wherfor, a compound of where- (in the sense of 'what') and for. Unlike 'therefore,' which signals a logical conclusion from a stated premise, or 'why,' the modern, direct interrogative, wherefore is an archaic excavation of cause. It is the judicial demand of a betrayed king, the plaintive cry of a star-crossed lover on a balcony, and the cosmic puzzlement etched into the dust of ruined empires—a word that seeks not a place, but the original fracture from which all subsequent breaks inevitably follow.

adv

Why, for what reason, because of what.“Ah, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? / Denie thy Father, and refuſe thy name, / Or if thou wilt not be but ſworne my loue, / And il'e no longer be a Capulet.”
Therefore; thus.“For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?”

conj

Because of which.“Wherefore, thus ſaith the holy one of Iſrael, Becauſe ye deſpise this word, and truſt in oppreſſion and peruerſeneſſe, and ſtay thereon: Therefore this iniquitie ſhalbe to you as a breach ready to fall, ſwelling out in a high wall, whoſe breaking commeth ſuddenly at an inſtant.”

noun

An intent or purpose; a why.“Ant[ipholus of Syracuse]. Shall I tell you why? / S. Dro. [Dromio of Syracuse] I, ſir, and wherefore; for they ſay, euery why hath a wherefore.”