whereas

See also whereäs

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʍɛːɹˈæz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æz

Adverb

whereas (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Where (that).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.iii:

     And home she came, whereas her mother blynd / Sate in eternall night [...].

Conjunction

whereas

1. In contrast; whilst on the contrary.

   He came first in the race whereas his brother came last.

2. It being the fact that

   And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union. (United States Articles of Confederation)

3. Inasmuch as

Usage notes

• Whereas is used in the second sense principally in legal documents, formal resolutions of corporate bodies, and the like.

Translations

but in contrast; whilst on the contrary…

• Czech: zatímco (cs), kdežto (cs), přičemž (cs)
• Danish: hvorimod (da)
• Dutch: terwijl (nl)
• Finnish: kun taas (fi), kun sitä vastoin
• French: tandis que (fr), alors que (fr)
• German: wohingegen (de), wogegen (de), während (de)
• Greek: τουναντίον (el) (tounandíon), ενώ (el) (enó), απεναντίας (el) (apenandías)

• Hungarian: míg (hu)
• Italian: laddove (it)
• Portuguese: enquanto (pt), ao passo que (pt)
• Romanian: pe când (ro)
• Russian: тогда как (ru) (togdá kak), в то время как (ru) (v to vremja kak)
• Serbo-Croatian: dok (sh), za razliku od (sh)
• Slovene: medtem ko
• Swedish: samtidigt som (sv)

it being the case that…

• Czech: poněvadž (cs), ježto (cs), vzhledem k tomu, že (cs)
• Danish: eftersom (da)
• Dutch: terwijl (nl), waarbij (nl)
• French: alors que (fr), compte tenu de (fr), vu que (fr), vu (fr), eu égard à (fr), en raison de (fr), étant donné (fr)
• German: wobei (de)

• Greek: δεδομένου ότι (el) (dhedhoménou óti), λαμβανομένου υπόψη ότι (el) (lamvanoménou ipópsi óti)
• Navajo: kótʼéego hazʼaah
• Portuguese: sendo que (pt), considerando que (pt), dado que (pt)
• Spanish: siendo que (es), por cuanto (es), visto que (es)

See also

• thereabout, thereafter, thereagainst, thereat, thereby, therefor, therefore, therefrom, therein, thereinafter, thereof, thereon, thereto, theretofore, thereunder, thereunto, thereupon, therewith, therewithal
• hereabout, hereafter, hereat, hereby, herein, hereinafter, hereinbefore, hereinto, hereof, hereon, hereto, heretofore, hereunto, hereunder, hereupon, herewith
• whereabouts, whereas, whereafter, whereat, whereby, wherefore, wherefrom, wherein, whereinto, whereof, whereon, whereto, whereunder, whereupon, wherever, wherewith, wherewithal

Noun

whereas (plural whereases)

1. A clause, as in legal documents, stating whereas.
   • 1883, The Insurance Law Journal

     ...the promise is stated after a whereas, though the promise is the very gist of the action, yet, such a count so framed, will be held good on demurrer.

   • 1908, United States Congress, Hearings beginning March 9, 1908-April 30, 1908

     It had a page or so of whereases.

   • 1961, Aluminum Workers' International Union, Biennial Convention

     I feel it is most unfortunate that some of the preambles, prefaces, whereases or whatever you want to call it, are put before motions or before resolutions...

   • 1973, Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Proceedings

     If it is the desire of any Lodge on the floor that the whereases that were listed in their original Resolution be quoted by the Chairman or by the Secretary...

Translations

clause

• French: tandis que (fr)

• Portuguese: cláusula (pt)