why
/waɪ/
adverb
Origin
Old English
hwȳ — for what reason
Overview
Meaning Now
- For what reason or purpose.
- The reason or cause for which.
Literal older meaning
from the instrumental case of the Old English interrogative pronoun 'hwā' (who) or 'hwæt' (what)
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
hwȳ
Earliest period
Old English
Journey
The word originates as the instrumental case of the Old English interrogative pronoun. While related to 'what' and 'who', it functioned specifically to inquire about the 'instrument' or cause behind an action, hence its survival as the primary way to ask for a reason in English.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*kʷoy
“interrogative stem”
- Proto-Germanic
*hwanai
“at what”
instrumental case of the interrogative stem
- Old English
hwȳ
“why; for what reason”
- Middle English
whi
“why”
spelling reflected the transition of the 'hw-' cluster
- Modern English
why
“why”
Connections
Word parts
why
root
interrogative element
Related across languages
Old Frisian
hwi
why
Old Saxon
hwi
why
Old High German
hwio
how
Explore next
Related to why
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.