Where does “por qué” come from?
por qué (Spanish) comes from Spanish por, from Old Spanish por, from Vulgar Latin por, from Latin prō, from Latin ratus, from Latin rēōr, from Proto-Italic rēōr, from Proto-Indo-European h₂reh₁- — to fit, to fix, to put together.
por qué (Spanish): why, for what reason
Definitions
- why, for what reason
Ancestry of “por qué”, step by step
por qué traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Spanish por
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | por | by; for; through, out, via |
| 2 | Old Spanish | por | — |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | por | for |
| 4 | Latin | prō | for |
| 5 | Latin | ratus | considered, having been considered; established,... |
| 6 | Latin | rēōr | to reckon, calculate |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | rēōr | to reckon, to calculate; to think, to deem, to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |
via Spanish qué
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | qué | what; which; what a; such; how |
| 2 | Latin | quid | neuter nominative/accusative singular of quis;... |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | kʷid | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷíd | neuter nominative/accusative singular of *kʷís |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷís | who, what; who, which, that; which, what |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷi- | interrogative base |