Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

28%
+0 −3
Q&A How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' (⟶ inasmuch) compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"?

I quote the OED 's etymology for the adverb inasmuch. originally 3 words in as much (in northern Middle English in als mikel), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, in asmuch, and now (espe...

0 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology
#4: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2022-03-18T07:52:09Z (about 2 years ago)
  • How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"?
  • How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' (⟶ inasmuch) compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"?
#3: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2022-03-05T18:52:12Z (about 2 years ago)
  • I quote the [_OED_](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93176#eid755936) 's etymology for_ inasmuch_ {adverb}.
  • >originally 3 words *in as much* (in northern Middle English *in als mikel*), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, *in asmuch*, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one.
  • >
  • >I. In phrase **inasmuch AS**.
  • >[=] In so far as, [...], in proportion as,
  • >
  • >[...]
  • >
  • >†3. **in as much** (Notice the absence of *as*)
  • = [4.] In an equal or like `degree`, likewise.
  • 1. What exactly does each Functional Morpheme ([in](http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=in&_searchBtn=Search),
  • [as](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11307?rskey=bFp1yM&result=6&isAdvanced=false#eid), [much](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123133?rskey=mtgwpV&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid)) mean here? Please specify which definition from each Functional Morpheme's _OED_ webpage applies.
  • 2. How did these 3 Functional Morphemes compound to mean definition 4 above? I'm befuddled, because 3 contains no word that means `degree` in definition 4. So whence did the semantic notion of `degree` stem?
  • 3. To wit, what semantic notions underlie _in_, _as_, _much_ with 'in an equal or like degree'?
  • I quote the [_OED_](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93176#eid755936) 's etymology for the adverb _inasmuch_.
  • >originally 3 words *in as much* (in northern Middle English *in als mikel*), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, *in asmuch*, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one.
  • >
  • >I. In phrase **inasmuch AS**.
  • >[=] In so far as, [...], in proportion as,
  • >
  • >[...]
  • >
  • >†3. **in as much** (Notice the absence of *as*)
  • = [4.] In an equal or like `degree`, likewise.
  • 1. What exactly does each Functional Morpheme ([in](http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=in&_searchBtn=Search),
  • [as](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11307?rskey=bFp1yM&result=6&isAdvanced=false#eid), [much](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123133?rskey=mtgwpV&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid)) mean here? Please specify which definition from each Functional Morpheme's _OED_ webpage applies.
  • 2. How did these 3 Functional Morphemes compound to mean definition 4 above? I'm befuddled, because 3 contains no word that means `degree` in definition 4. So whence did the semantic notion of `degree` stem?
  • 3. To wit, what semantic notions underlie _in_, _as_, _much_ with 'in an equal or like degree'?
#2: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2022-03-05T18:52:00Z (about 2 years ago)
  • I quote the [_OED_](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93176#eid755936) 's etymology for_ inasmuch _{adverb}.
  • >originally 3 words *in as much* (in northern Middle English *in als mikel*), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, *in asmuch*, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one.
  • >
  • >I. In phrase **inasmuch AS**.
  • >[=] In so far as, [...], in proportion as,
  • >
  • >[...]
  • >
  • >†3. **in as much** (Notice the absence of *as*)
  • = [4.] In an equal or like `degree`, likewise.
  • 1. What exactly does each Functional Morpheme ([in](http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=in&_searchBtn=Search),
  • [as](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11307?rskey=bFp1yM&result=6&isAdvanced=false#eid), [much](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123133?rskey=mtgwpV&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid)) mean here? Please specify which definition from each Functional Morpheme's _OED_ webpage applies.
  • 2. How did these 3 Functional Morphemes compound to mean definition 4 above? I'm befuddled, because 3 contains no word that means `degree` in definition 4. So whence did the semantic notion of `degree` stem?
  • 3. To wit, what semantic notions underlie _in_, _as_, _much_ with 'in an equal or like degree'?
  • I quote the [_OED_](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93176#eid755936) 's etymology for_ inasmuch_ {adverb}.
  • >originally 3 words *in as much* (in northern Middle English *in als mikel*), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, *in asmuch*, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one.
  • >
  • >I. In phrase **inasmuch AS**.
  • >[=] In so far as, [...], in proportion as,
  • >
  • >[...]
  • >
  • >†3. **in as much** (Notice the absence of *as*)
  • = [4.] In an equal or like `degree`, likewise.
  • 1. What exactly does each Functional Morpheme ([in](http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=in&_searchBtn=Search),
  • [as](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11307?rskey=bFp1yM&result=6&isAdvanced=false#eid), [much](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123133?rskey=mtgwpV&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid)) mean here? Please specify which definition from each Functional Morpheme's _OED_ webpage applies.
  • 2. How did these 3 Functional Morphemes compound to mean definition 4 above? I'm befuddled, because 3 contains no word that means `degree` in definition 4. So whence did the semantic notion of `degree` stem?
  • 3. To wit, what semantic notions underlie _in_, _as_, _much_ with 'in an equal or like degree'?
#1: Initial revision by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2022-03-05T18:51:41Z (about 2 years ago)
How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"?
I quote the [_OED_](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/93176#eid755936) 's etymology for_ inasmuch _{adverb}.

>originally 3 words *in as much* (in northern Middle English *in als mikel*), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, *in asmuch*, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one.
>
>I. In phrase **inasmuch AS**.
>[=]  In so far as, [...], in proportion as, 
>
>[...]
>
>†3. **in as much** (Notice the absence of  *as*)     
= [4.] In an equal or like `degree`, likewise. 

1. What exactly does each Functional Morpheme ([in](http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=in&_searchBtn=Search),
[as](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11307?rskey=bFp1yM&result=6&isAdvanced=false#eid), [much](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/123133?rskey=mtgwpV&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid)) mean  here? Please specify which definition from each Functional Morpheme's _OED_ webpage applies. 

2. How did these 3 Functional Morphemes compound to mean definition 4 above? I'm befuddled, because 3 contains no word that  means `degree` in definition 4. So whence did the semantic notion of `degree` stem? 

3. To wit, what semantic notions underlie _in_, _as_, _much_ with 'in an equal or like degree'?