Word of the Day

: October 25, 2008

wherewithal

noun WAIR-with-awl

What It Means

: means, resources; specifically : money

wherewithal in Context

If I had the wherewithal, I’d buy that empty lot next door and put in a garden.

Did You Know?

"Wherewithal" has been with us in one form or another since the 16th century. It comes from "where" and "withal" (meaning "with"), and it has been used as a conjunction meaning "with or by means of which" and as a pronoun meaning "that with or by which." These days, however, it is almost always used as a noun referring to the means or resources one has at one's disposal -- especially financial resources, that is, money.