WHY, adverb [Latin , for what. The original phrase is for what, for why ] 1. For what cause or reason, interrogatively. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die? Jeremiah 27:13. 2. For which reason or cause, relatively. No ground of enmity, why he should mean me ill. 3. For what reason or cause; for which; relatively. Turn the discourse; I have a reason why I would not have you speak so tenderly. 4. It is used sometimes emphatically, or rather as a expletive. If her chill heart I cannot move, why Ill enjoy the very love.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI