Word of the Day

: January 20, 2019

wherewithal

noun WAIR-wih-thawl

What It Means

: means or resources for purchasing or doing something; specifically : financial resources : money

wherewithal in Context

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

"Typically, when a person makes more money and has more savings, they add credit such as signing up for a new card or taking on a car loan. That's because they're confident they have the financial wherewithal to pay back the debt." — Janna Herron, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2018

Did You Know?

Wherewithal has been with us in one form or another since the 16th century. It comes from our still-familiar word where, and withal, a Middle English combination of with and all, meaning "with." Wherewithal 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—especially financial resources—one has at one's disposal.