Why

Pronunciation

• enPR: hwÄ«, IPA: /ʍaɪ/, /waɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: wye, Y, y all only in accents with the wine-whine merger

From Middle English, from Old English hwȳ, hwī ("why", instrumental case of hwæt ("what")., literally by what, for what), from Proto-Germanic *hwī ("by what, how"), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey, locative of *kʷís ("who"). Cognate with Middle High German wiu ("how, why"), Danish and Swedish hvi ("why"), Faroese and Icelandic hví ("why"), Latin cui ("to whom", dative case of quī ("who, how, why").), Ancient Greek πει (pei, "where"). Compare Old English þȳ ("because, since, on that account, therefore, then", literally by that, for that). See thy.

Full definition of why

Adverb

1. For what cause, reason, or purpose.
1. Introducing a complete question.Why is the sky blue?Why did you do that?I don’t know why he did thatTell me why the moon changes phase.
2. Introducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause).Why spend money on something you already get for free?Why not tell him how you feel?
3. Introducing a noun or other phrase.Why him? Why not someone taller?
• 2013-07-20, Welcome to the plastisphere, Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

Synonyms

• how come, wherefore

Noun

1. The reason.A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.

Synonyms

• wherefore

Interjection

1. An exclamation used to express indignation, mild surprise, or impatience. "Well, I'll tell you...".
• Daniel Defoe“Why, child, I tell thee if I was thy mother I would not disown thee; don't you see I am as kind to you as if I was your mother?”

Derived terms

Noun

1. (UK, dialect) A young heifer.

Anagrams

• hwy.