Where does “why” come from?
why (Middle English) comes from Old English hwȳ, from Proto-Germanic hwī, from Proto-Indo-European kʷey, from Proto-Indo-European kʷis — interrogative, relative stem; who, what;...
Ancestry of “why”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | hwȳ | why |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | hwī | how, with what, by what means; instrumental of... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷey | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷis | interrogative, relative stem; who, what;... |