Here is not a Place, Nor is There, or Where

Context

Some online discussion included a misinterpretation of Juliet's "wherefore", and I got wondering how far the "not a place" "here-", "there-", and "where-" words have infiltrated.

Disclaimer: I'm not a linguist; this is purely observational, what I've scraped from various dictionaries and other hopefully-reliable resources.

Methodology

It seems clear that many, but far from all, of the *here- words refer to locations ("here"). Many are causality oriented ("therefore"), some refer to an object ("hereof"), and others are merely temporal ("hereafter"). As I build this table of which words have what domain, I may discover others. So, basically, I'm just going to tabulate what I find.

Results

Forms in (brackets) are rare or archaic, struck out seem absent.
Use "L" refers to locations, "O" to objects, "T" to temporal aspects, and "C" to causality. "-" implies the form couldn't be found or its use ascertained.

Form/Suffix here- form here- use there- form there- use where- form where- use Notes
*here hereLO thereL whereL
*hence henceLC thenceLC whenceLC
*hither hitherL thitherL whitherL
-in hereinOL thereinL whereinL
-after hereafterOT thereafterOT whereafter-
-by herebyC (thereby)C wherebyC
-as hereas- (thereas)L whereasC
-of (hereof)O (thereof)- whereofC
-about(s) hereabout(s)L thereabout(s)L whereabout(s)L
-upon (hereupon)L thereuponTC whereuponTC
*henceforth henceforthTC (thenceforth)- whenceforth-
-fore herefore- thereforeC (wherefore)C
-to heretoLT theretoLT wheretoLT
-tofore heretoforeTC (theretofore)- (wheretofore)-
-under hereunderL thereunderL (whereunder)L
-soever heresoever- (theresoever)- wheresoeverL pairs with all questions
-(e)ver herever- therever- whereverL pairs with all questions
-with herewithO (therewith)O wherewith- "wherewithal" survives
-at (hereat)CT thereatLTC whereatLT

Credit Where Credit is Due

Most of the evaluation of how existent and extant a word is is based on what the Online Etymological Dictionary, the search-engine-accessible parts of the OED, or Collin's Dictionary says. However, views as to whether something is archaic or not is filtered through my own somewhat perverse gaze. Basically, if I'd use it, it's not archaic, and screw you all. I still happily use "yclept"; if it's good enough for Vonnegut, it's good enough for me.


Another hastily constructed page by Phil Carmody
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