pourquoi

Pronunciation

• IPA: /puʁ.kwa/^[1]

Forms

pourquoi^[1] Old French pur quei, porqueit and purquei; the Académie wrote pourquoy in 1694 and 1718, and pourquoi from 1740.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French pour + quoi, first written separately, “pur quei” (about 1050), and later welded into one.^[4][2][3][5] The pronoun “quoi” continues Latin quid (“what”).^[6] Littré compares the dialect forms Walloon pokoi (Walloon) and Burgundian “porquey”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis as a direct question: Filz Alexis, pur quei portat ta medre? “Son Alexis, why did your mother bear you?”^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the early 12th century it also introduced an indirect question.^[4][2] Old French used it as a relative pronoun meaning “for which” (about 1165) and, from about 1250, as a linking relative meaning “and that is why”, a use frequent in the 16th century; both have died out except in the phrases c'est pourquoi and voilà pourquoi (1580, Montaigne).^[4][2]

As a noun, le pourquoi meant “the cause, the motive” by about 1175, and, from 1764 also the word or question asking for a reason.^[2] Pourquoi non ? is recorded in La Fontaine (1668), pourquoi pas ? in Victor Hugo (1856).^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Pur quei in the Vie de saint Alexis, in a direct question.^[4]
• Early 12th century – First used in an indirect question, in Benedeit's Voyage de saint Brendan.^[4]
• c. 1165 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it as a relative, “for which”.^[4]
• 1174–1176 – Le purquei, the noun “cause, reason”, in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[4][2]
• 1580 – C'est pourquoi and voilà pourquoi in Montaigne's Essais.^[4]
• 1668 – Pourquoi non ? in La Fontaine.^[8]
• 1740 – The Académie adopts the spelling pourquoi for pourquoy.^[4]
• 1856 – Pourquoi pas ? in Victor Hugo.^[8]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Why, for what reason or with what intention, in a direct question: Pourquoi partez-vous ?^[9][10]
2. Why, in an indirect question: Je vous demande pourquoi vous êtes ici.^[11]
3. Followed by an infinitive: what is the point of: Pourquoi ne pas l'avouer ?^[9]
4. C'est pourquoi, voilà pourquoi: that is why, for that reason.^[11][8]
5. Pourquoi pas ?: why not, a favourable answer to a suggestion.^[11]

Noun

1. The cause or reason of something: le pourquoi et le comment.^[11][9]
2. A question asking for a reason: les pourquoi des enfants.^[11]

Related words

• pour
• quoi

Usage notes

As a noun it is invariable: des pourquoi.^[9][4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 401a
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)