Insofar

How to spell insofar

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce insofar

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does insofar mean?

1. adverbTo the extent or degree that, used to introduce a qualifying clause (typically followed by 'as').

Insofar in a sentence

• The policy applies insofar as it concerns full-time staff.

• The report is accurate insofar as the figures were available at the time.

Where does insofar come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is simply the old phrase 'in so far as' written as a single closed compound, and every part of it is native English of Germanic stock. 'In' descends from Old English 'in', 'so' from Old English 'swa' meaning 'in this way' or 'to this extent', and 'far' from Old English 'feor', meaning 'distant'. Taken together the phrase originally pictured something extending 'in so great a distance', which then weakened into the abstract sense 'to the extent that'. Writers began running the words together as 'insofar' over the last few centuries, especially in formal and legal prose, where it almost always introduces a qualifying clause beginning 'as'. The spelling trap is purely that three separate words have been welded into one, so the temptation is to leave gaps or to write 'in so far'; both open and closed forms have existed, but the single word is now the usual written choice.

How the word is built

• in (preposition)
• so (adverb)
• far (adverb), fused from the phrase 'in so far as'