inasmuch=because

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On May 16, 2008, at 6:28 PM, Sam Clements wrote:

> Since there is such a useful word as "because," how did a more
> involved word "inasmuch" get it's start?  (OED says originally three
> words)
>
> The reason I asked is my 15 yr old daughter asked me what it meant,
> and I immediately said "because."

the OED has two main senses for "inasmuch (as)": a limiting sense
'insofar as' and a concessive sense 'given that, seeing that, since'.
"because" is only occasionally a suitable substitute for "inasmuch as".

arnold

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