thereby
- 1By that means or action, or as a consequence of what has just been mentioned.
The company merged with its largest rival, thereby gaining control of the market.
He missed the registration deadline, thereby forfeiting his place in the competition.
Similarthus, hence, consequently
Note
Its parts are assembled the way German assembles dabei: Old English ðǣrbig is simply there + by, with "there" standing in for "that." It usually sits just before a participle naming the result (thereby gaining control), but it can also follow and, or slip inside a passive, as in Swift's A Modest Proposal (1729): "the Nation's stock will be thereby increased."
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Origin
From Middle English therby, from Old English ðǣrbig, equivalent to "there" plus "by", a formation paralleled by German dabei.