# Why "Why"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892 "2002-12-15T15:52:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/1 "2002-12-15T15:52:49Z")
I’ve heard people, mostly people from older generations, use “why” in this way: “We were flying over Bremen, and the flak was heavy. **Why** , it was so thick you could walk on it!” Or, “He was walking on the beach and **why** , a big wave just knocked him over!” I have a couple of theories, but I’m not sure I understand why “why” is being used in such cases. So why is “why” used like that? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/2 "2002-12-15T16:10:05Z")
Because ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/3 "2002-12-15T16:20:40Z")
It literally means “by golly” Main Entry: 4why Function: interjection Date: 1519 – used to express mild surprise, hesitation, approval, disapproval, or impatience \ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/4 "2002-12-15T16:32:19Z")
Interesting, **sailor**. My theory, using your example, was something like this: “ **Why** didn’t I see this before? Here’s what I was looking for!” Or using my example, “The flak was thick. **Why** do I say it was thick? Because there was so much of it you could get out and walk on it.” Or in “Why you little…”, “ **Why** did I think you were an honourable person? You’re a little…” I wonder how it became an interjection? Something “complicated” as I’ve been thinking? Or some other reason? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/5 "2002-12-15T16:33:41Z")
That is, how did “by golly” (by God) evolve into “why”? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/6 "2002-12-15T16:57:22Z")
I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that the word “why” in this context is a completely different word to the word “why” that forms a question. That is, while it is spelled and pronounced the same, it’s origin is completely different – probably coming from another language. The origins of modern English are such that it came about as an amalgam of several languages: first Anglo-Saxon, then came heavy influences from the related Norse during the Viking occupation of large parts of the country, then huge amounts of Old French vocabulary following the Norman invasion. The result of this is that we often have several words for one thing, each coming from a different language source, and, conversely, several words which sound the same, but which have a completely different meaning and origin. “Why” as an interjection sounds somewhat old-fashioned in Standard English nowadays, but where I live (the North East of England) it is still very much part of everyday speech – though the pronunciation is slightly different. This suggests to me (and I admit I have nothing to back this up with) that it may be a survival from Anglo-Saxon, since the Northumbrian dialect apparently had much less influence from the Danes than other parts of the North of England. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/7 "2002-12-15T17:03:11Z")
> [@](#): > > (the North East of England) as in: “why aye man”? (which nicely reminds me of the new tune from Auf Wiedersehen Pet) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/8 "2002-12-15T17:13:10Z")
I can see how “why” would be used as an interjection. Say you are bewildered and/or annoyed, then you would start saying something like - Why TF is this thing not working? - Why TF don’t you just leave me alone? So Why could easily convey the beginning of a phrase conveying surprise or irritation and became an interjection in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/9 "2002-12-15T17:32:38Z")
I think I was an adult before I knew that that was spelled “why” and not simply just “y.” ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-why/142892/10 "2002-12-15T17:53:40Z")
Lobsang – Yes, that’s the most well-known example, but of course we use it in more contexts than just that. sailor – I don’t know how plausible your theory is: I can’t think that I’ve ever seen an instance when “why” (used as an interjection) in any way indicates a question – it’s much more of an intensifier, calling attention to and forcifying a statement. I suppose it may be just possible: Online Eymology Dictionary gives a first recorded usage as an interjection from 1519, and presumably it would have been a part of the spoken language for some time before that. Certainly Shakespeare used it in its modern sense, but there may have been time for it to evolve in the way you suggest. It just seems to me that there would be some evidence of that.