pourquoi (French)
Where does "pourquoi" come from?
The French word "pourquoi," meaning "why," is a direct combination of the Old French "por" (for) and "quoi" (what). These components evolved from Middle French "parquoy" into the modern form, literally translating the question to "for what."
Full etymology tree
- pourquoi (French), 'why'
- inherited parquoy (Middle French), 'why'
- inherited por quoi (Old French), 'why'
- inherited parquoy (Middle French), 'why'
Descendants and derived words
- ce pourquoi (French)
- folie du pourquoi (French)
- pkoi (French)
- pourquoi du comment (French)
- pour quoi faire (French)
- pourquoi non (French)
- pourquoi pas (French)
- pourquoi que (French)
- va savoir pourquoi (French)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris