What with

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on October 21, 2010 at 14:12

In Reply to: What with posted by Debpriya De on October 21, 2010 at 09:24:

: "What with the cold weather and my bad leg, I haven’t been out for weeks."

: What is the meaning and origin of the expression "What with"?

It is a construction in use in English since the Middle Ages: it means "in consequence of, on account of, as a result of; in view of, considering (one thing and another)". Centuries ago English people also said "What through..." and "What for..." which meant the same thing; but these expressions are now obsolete. (VSD)