meaning - What does "by way of" mean?


I was watching a TV show, and one man asked another where he was from. The response was "Pennsylvania by way of Illinois", and I can't really understand what it means in this context.


Edit: thefreedictionary.com says it means "passing through" but I don't see how it applies in this context.



Answer



Wiktionary shows the sense “By the route of; through; via” for by way of, versus the sense “passing through something (as a place); via something” shown in thefreedictionary. A person giving “Pennsylvania by way of Illinois” as where he is from typically means born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Illinois.


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