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These words all have something in common: heretofore, forthwith, notwithstanding, therefore, etc... what are these kinds of words called? And where can I find a list of them?

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are you looking for a part of speech? – Mitch Feb 11 '12 at 20:34
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This is a heterogeneous group. You'll have to be more specific. – Brett Reynolds Feb 11 '12 at 20:51
generally, compound words made up of 'here' 'to' 'fore' 'with' 'forth' 'not' 'withstanding' 'there' 'at'... i don't know what to call it, which is why I'm asking for help on how to identify them. Essentially it's "words that sound like that", to me, at this point.. – Claudiu Feb 11 '12 at 22:33
more examples: hitherto, erewhile, erstwhile, theretofore, herebefore, erenow, hithertofore... kind of, words implying a going to or coming from, either physically or with ideas.. – Claudiu Feb 11 '12 at 22:35
How about 'nevertheless', 'moreover', 'nonetheless', 'wherefore', 'whence', 'however'? – Mitch Feb 12 '12 at 2:30

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

These are all adverbs and compound words. However, there are numerous adverbs and compound words, and most are not as "fancy". These words do not have a category unto themselves.

Of the ones that I just looked up, they appear to derive from Middle or Old English. They are often found in pre-Victorian literature (e.g., any Austen novels).

In today's society, these words (except therefore) are usually (but not exclusively) found within legal documents. Therefore, if I had to give them a name, it would be legalese, but I think this narrows the scope too much.

As for lists, here's a good starting point: http://www.wordnik.com/words/heretofore.

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Most are adverbs, but notwithstanding is a preposition (albeit one that sometimes follows its object). – Brett Reynolds Feb 11 '12 at 20:52
This answer is not legalese. Therefore, it's an exception as far as therefore is concerned.:) – Kris Feb 12 '12 at 8:58
up vote 1 down vote

I think these are mostly considered archaic terms. A more wordy description of things that are described in simpler terms now. Searching for "archaic terms" comes up with several results including http://phrontistery.info/archaic.html

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Archaic might apply to notwithstanding and forthwith, but you could hardly say that about whenever, anyway, etc., which are functionally/structurally similar. – FumbleFingers Feb 11 '12 at 21:45
@FumbleFingers: But the OP didn't ask about those. I think formal/old-fashioned/archaic is what he is looking for. – Cerberus Feb 11 '12 at 23:51
@Cerberus: He asked about words like his two examples. You choose to see that as likeness in the sense of being formal/old-fashioned/archaic, I choose to see it as being compounds formed primarily from prepositions (so we're both right, and I don't think you can argue different! :) – FumbleFingers Feb 12 '12 at 1:18
@FumbleFingers: Perhaps I can't; but I wasn't trying to: I was just commenting on your complaint that Geo's answer would not apply to those terms you mentioned. You can't argue that he is wrong based on that. – Cerberus Feb 12 '12 at 1:25
@Cerberus: Touché. I shall reverse my downvote! – FumbleFingers Feb 12 '12 at 2:23
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I'd call them compound prepositions. Linguistically speaking, compounds are "composite words" made up from more than one component - in OP's examples the components are words (mostly prepositions themselves), and the resulting compound is also usually a preposition.

Just because some sound formal or archaic doesn't mean they all are. For example, within, without, toward, underneath, throughout, etc., are all in the same general class of words.

OP is particularly interested in prepositions of location - spatial, temporal, or metaphorical (as in "location within a logical framework"). Typical examples such as whereat, hereinafter, thereupon, etc. often occur in legal wordings or complex scholarly arguments, where the "location" is actually some other part of the text. That's why they seem strange (archaic, even, since styles of discursive argument have changed over the centuries). But even many of these, such as upon, therefore, outside, instead, are unexceptional in everyday contexts today.

I don't want to get bogged down in the question of which of OP's words are adverbs and which are prepositions, because I find that distinction is often vague, depends on context, and means little.

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