as to

A

over as to (prepositional phrase)
/æz tuː/

Variant

• as for

Meanings

1. Concerning or regarding something.
2. About a specific subject or matter.
3. In terms of or when it comes to.
4. According to or depending on (formal/less common).

Synonyms: with regard to; according to; as regards; regarding; concerning; in respect of; about; relating to; by; as far.

Example Sentences

1. As to your request, we will discuss it tomorrow.
2. I have no clue as to what she was implying.
3. As to courage, he never lacked it.
4. The schedule was decided as to the rules.

Origin and History

The English sequence as to functions as a complex preposition meaning “regarding/with respect to.” Historically it arose by combining as (a Middle/Old English item ultimately from eall swa “all so/just as”) with to, and it is attested from the Middle English period onward.

Earliest Attestations (Manuscript)

The earliest recorded use cited by historical lexicography appears in 1340 in the Kentish Middle English work Ayenbite of Inwyt, where the phrase occurs as ase to “as to.” This shows the construction already functioning as a prepositional marker of topic or reference in the 14th century.

Country Of Origin

The construction is native to England. Its earliest known appearance (1340) is in a text produced in Kent (southeast England), and subsequent Middle English examples occur across English literary centers (e.g., London/Chancery and Chaucerian verse).

From Middle English into Print (Earliest Printed Record)

Middle English writers used as to frequently—Chaucer, for example, has “As to my doom” (“in my judgment”) in The Canterbury Tales. Because Caxton’s Westminster press printed The Canterbury Tales among England’s very first printed books (1477/1478), the phrase as to enters English print no later than those Caxton editions. Thus, an earliest printed record can be taken from Caxton’s Canterbury Tales (1477/1478), where lines such as “As to my doom …” appear in the printed text.

How The Form Developed (Etymology and Grammaticalization).

• As is historically a shortened development of also (< Old English eall swa “wholly so; just as”), which yielded Modern English as and supported comparative/relational meanings (“as … as,” “just as”). This semantic pathway made as suitable for pairing with other function words.
• as + to behaves as a complex (multi-word) preposition, a well-recognized pattern in English grammar whereby sequences (e.g., as to, in regard to, with respect to) lexicalize into prepositional units. Historical grammars and modern reference works classify as to under this type.

Continuity and Usage Notes

Usage authorities have long discussed as to (sometimes criticizing it as wordy), but it has remained standard from Middle English through Modern English. Historical commentary traces it unbroken from 14th-century manuscripts to 18th-century prose and beyond, confirming its stability as an English idiom.

Summary.

• Origin: Native English development; medieval England (Kent/London).
• Earliest recorded use (MS): 1340 (Ayenbite of Inwyt).
• Earliest printed record: In William Caxton’s printed editions of The Canterbury Tales (1477/1478), which contain lines with as to (e.g., “As to my doom”).
• Mechanism: Grammaticalization of as (from eall swa) plus to into a complex preposition meaning “regarding/with respect to.”

These pieces together reflect the consensus view: as to is not a borrowing or a sudden innovation but a native English compound preposition that crystallized in Middle English and has been in continuous use ever since.

Important

Last update: August 19, 2025 11:39 AM