- 1其中之、關於此（古語／法律用語）。今天最常見的地方是英文合約結尾的固定句「In witness whereof（茲證明如上，特此簽署）」——台灣人簽英文合約時看得到。日常一律用 of which。
Whereof means 'of which' or 'of what'. It points back to something already named and shows that the next part belongs to it or is about it: 'the matters whereof he spoke' = 'the matters that he spoke of'; 'a country whereof little is known' = 'a country of which little is known'. It can also, more rarely, ask: 'Whereof do you accuse me?' Of all the where- words this is the deadest in ordinary speech. You will find it in the Bible, in Shakespeare, in old contracts and wills, and in the closing formula of formal legal documents: 'In witness whereof, the parties have signed…' — that phrase is still printed on real contracts today, so it is the one place a modern person actually meets it. Philosophy quotes it too, in the famous translated line 'Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.' Nobody uses it in speech; even formal modern writing prefers 'of which'.
組成where (which, what) + of. Built exactly like whereby and wherein; Swedish varav and Dutch waaraf are made the same way, which shows how old the habit is.
原始詞典資料6 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
whereofconj/wɛəɹˈɒv/
- 1
formalOf what.
- 2
formalOf which.
- SATURNINUS: Go fetch them hither to us presently. TITUS: Why, there they are, both baked in that pie, Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.
- However, upon a ſtrict Review, I blotted out ſeveral Paſſages of leſs Moment which were in my firſt Copy, for fear of being cenſured as tedious and trifling, whereof Travellers are often, perhaps not without Juſtice, accuſed.
- 3
formalOf whom.
- Now one day of the days, […] the Sultan cast his eyes upon her as she stood before him, and said to his Grand Wazir, “This be the very woman whereof I spake to thee yesterday, so do thou straightway bring her before me, that I may see what be her suit and fulfil her need.”
- 4
archaicWith or by which.
whereofadv/wɛəɹˈɒv/
- 1
archaicOf what.
- Anthonio. [I]n ſooth I know not why I am ſo ſad, It wearies me: you ſay it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What ſtuffe ’tis made of, whereof it is borne, I am to learne: and ſuch a Want-wit ſadnesse makes of mee, That I haue much ado to know my ſelfe.
- Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
- 2
archaicOf which.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。