whereby

Adverb

whereby (not comparable)

1. (interrogative, obsolete) By what, in which direction; how.
   • Whereby goest thou?
2. By which.
   • Shylock:
     Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that:
     You take my house when you do take the prop
     That doth sustain my house; you take my life
     When you do take the means whereby I live.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   • M. Sawrey […] devised a mechanical method whereby theatrical scenes could be changed in a simple way.1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 179
3. (nonstandard) Where, wherein, in which.
   • Because COBOL does not have a date type, some implementations rely instead on a system whereby all dates are coded to a reference point. The most commonly used is May 20, 1875, as this was the date of an international standards-setting conference held in Paris, known as the Convention du Mètre.2025 February 17, David Gilbert, “No, 150-Year-Olds Aren’t Collecting Social Security Benefits”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2025