Link Centre Dictionary

therefore

the·re·fore

UK/ˈðɛə.fɔː/ US/ˈðɛːfoː/ common

adverb

1.

(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result

  • “therefore X must be true”
  • “the eggs were fresh and hence satisfactory”
  • “we were young and thence optimistic”
  • “it is late and thus we must go”
  • “the witness is biased and so cannot be trusted”
Synonyms
2.

as a consequence

  • “he had good reason to be grateful for the opportunities which they had made available to him and which consequently led to the good position he now held”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English therfore, therfor, tharfore, thorfore; synchronically a univerbation of there (pronominal adverb) + for, literally “for that (reason)”. The spelling has been changed due to a reanalysis as there + fore (literally “forward from that; thence”). See also therefor, ultimately the same formation. Compare Saterland Frisian deerfoar, Dutch daarvoor, German dafür, Danish and Norwegian derfor, Swedish därför.

Phrases

  • 1. Scottish2. from Middle English mid3. old dialectal form
  • I think, therefore I am

Related words

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.