waarom Dutch · revision 37120

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1240, Middle Dutch (Limburg)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʋaːˈrɔm/, /ˈʋaːrɔm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''waarom'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|waeromme]], a compound of the interrogative and relative ⟨waer⟩ “where” ([[waar#3]]) and the preposition ⟨ombe⟩ ([[om]]); in Middle Dutch it was written both separately and together.^(VMNW)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) The same formation is Middle Low German ⟨warumme⟩ and Middle High German ⟨warumbe⟩, modern [[de|warum]].^(MNW)^(Wiktionary) As with [[daarom]], ⟨waar⟩ stands for a case of the pronoun [[wat]], so that the meaning is “for what”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The oldest record is in the Limburg glossary of Bern of 1240, where ''warumbe'' translates Latin ''quare'' and ''cur'' “why”.^(VMNW) In a West Brabant text of 1265 it introduces a clause of reason: ''Mar wonder heuet mi uan desen Warumme si so gerne lesen'', “but I wonder why they so like to read”.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch used ''waeromme'' in questions and as a relative adverb, often followed by a meaningless ''dat'', as in a Damme document of 1280.^(VMNW) It was also a noun: “reason, cause”, as in ''de waeromme dat hijt dede'' “the reason why he did it” (1380), and “purpose, intention”, as in ''sonder waeromme minnen'' “to love without ulterior motive” (1351).^(MNW)

+

+ The WNT's records begin around 1500;^(WNT) ''om geen waarom'' “for no reason at all” is recorded in 1569, and ''zijn waarom hebben'' meant to have one's reasons, not to happen without self-interest.^(WNT) The noun is now neuter; masculine and feminine use is dated except in dialect.^(WNT) Some 19th-century dictionaries classed the relative use as a conjunction, a choice the WNT calls merely terminological.^(WNT) Negerhollands had ''waerom'' beside ''watmaak'', and Jersey Dutch had ''wāāirom''.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1240 – ''Warumbe'' glosses Latin ''quare'' in Limburg.^(VMNW)

+ * 1265 – ''Warumme'' introduces a clause of reason.^(VMNW)

+ * 1280 – ''Waromme dat'' is recorded in Damme.^(VMNW)

+ * 1351 – The noun means “ulterior motive”.^(MNW)

+ * 1380 – The noun means “reason”.^(MNW)

+ * 1569 – ''Om geen waarom'' “for no reason” is recorded.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|why]], for what reason or purpose: ''Waarom ben je zo laat?''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)^(ANW)

+ # ''(relative)'' For which reason: ''Dat is de reden waarom ik bleef.''^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(het waarom)'' The [[m|en|reason]], the cause: ''Niemand kende het waarom van zijn vertrek.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[waarvoor]]

+ * [[omdat]]

+ * [[waar#3]]

+ * [[om]]

+ * [[daarom]]

+ * [[de|warum]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The stress usually falls on ''om'', but the first syllable can also be stressed.^(Wiktionary) On questionnaires ''zo ja, waarom, zo nee, waarom niet'' is a set formula.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}