A formal legal term meaning 'of this' or 'concerning this document or matter'. Used primarily in legal and official contexts.
Middle English compound of 'here' (in this place) and 'of' (indicating possession or relation). This archaic construction follows the pattern of other legal terms like 'thereof' and 'whereof' that preserve older English grammatical structures.
Legal English is like a time capsule, preserving medieval language patterns that disappeared from everyday speech centuries ago. 'Hereof' is part of a whole family of 'here-' compounds (herein, hereby, herewith) that make legal documents sound so distinctly formal and old-fashioned.
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