To all whom these presents shall come, greeting

20:53 May 21, 2012 

Charles' answer was perfect and just what I was looking for. For someone who deals with military documents, I already know its gist (to whom it may concern). I was searching for its logical meaning in linguistic terms. Short and sweet is not always the best answer, and Charles provided the explanation I was looking for. Thanks!

13:29 Mar 7, 2012 

And anyway, the sovereign might object: that's her line :)

13:20 Mar 7, 2012 

I can conceive of no circumstances in which I would use "To all (to) whom these presents may come, greeting!". The expression carries with it much obfuscation but no special meaning that cannot be conveyed by "To Whom It May Concern", which expression is itself not infrequently redundant.

13:12 Mar 7, 2012 

Forgive me for labouring the point, and I assure you I am not saying this defensively, but I would go so far as to say that it is insufficient and potentially misleading to say that this formula is equivalent to "To whom it may concern". That is certainly what it means, but it is obviously not used the same way or in the same circumstances. I have from time to time written "To whom it may concern" at the head of a reference for a student, for example, but I would certainly never put "To all (to) whom these presents may come, greeting!".

13:01 Mar 7, 2012 

Fine, no offence taken, and I'm glad you find what I've said useful and informative, though that is not what a peer comment of "disagree" usually means. In the first paragraph of my answer I said "it is equivalent in meaning to a formula such as 'to whom it may concern'". I am relieved to hear that you agree with this.

In saying that this is "the correct answer", however, I think you fail to consider that a non-native speaker of English may wish to know a little more: what the words actually mean, given that this is not everyday language, and above all (for the purposes of translation) how the phrase is generally used. I don't know whether I did justice to these questions, but I can't see that that kind of information is superfluous.

12:50 Mar 7, 2012 

I think the correct answer is "To Whom It May Concern", although what you say is very useful and informative. No offence intended.

12:41 Mar 7, 2012 

I have no objection at all to being disagreed with if my answer is wrong, but if I am, I would be very grateful to learn how and why. I am sure that Andrei would find this useful too. You say that aricb has the answer. I agree with what he/she has said here in the discussion, and have taken pains to say so, but I thought that Andrei would also find it useful to have other details explained, such as the meaning of "presents", which is why I posted an answer. Does your "disagree" merely indicate that you think I should not have posted an answer at all after aricb's comment, or is there something substantively wrong (wrong enough to vitiate my answer) in what I have said?

07:35 Mar 7, 2012 

It should read, "To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting". It's a formulaic equivalent of "to whom it may concern", indicating that the document is intended for the general public rather than for specific recipients.