wherewithal

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2008 is: wherewithal • \WAIR-with-awl\ • noun : means, resources; specifically : money Examples: If I had the wherewithal, I’d buy that empty lot next door and put in a garden. Did you know? "Wherewithal" has been with us in one form or another since the 16th century. It comes from "where" and "withal" (meaning "with"), and it has been used as a conjunction meaning "with or by means of which" and as a pronoun meaning "that with or by which." These days, however, it is almost always used as a noun referring to the means or resources one has at one's disposal -- especially financial resources, that is, money. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.