Contextualizebeta

as it were

adv

Etymology

From Middle English as it were, as hyt were, als it were, als hit were, from Old English *ealswā hit wǣre, attested only as swā hit wǣre and swylċe hit wǣre (“as it were”, literally “as it would be”). Compare Dutch als het ware.

  1. inherited from *ealswā hit wǣre✻

Definitions

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see as, it, were.

  2. Used to indicate that a word or statement is perhaps not exact though practically right

    Used to indicate that a word or statement is perhaps not exact though practically right; as if it were so.

    • God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the ſtrength of an Vnicorne.

  3. Used to draw attention to the use of a metaphor, sometimes to prevent confusion or to…

    Used to draw attention to the use of a metaphor, sometimes to prevent confusion or to highlight wordplay.

    • She gave all of the women seated at the restaurant food for thought, as it were.
    • Concerns that cloud seeding might “steal” water from an area a cloud is traveling toward—robbing Peter to water Paul, as it were—have been dispelled.
    • Scientists hope Crispr might also be used for genomic surgery, as it were, to correct errant genes that cause disease.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for as it were. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA