cur

Meaning

why, for what reason, wherefore, to what purpose, from what motive

Concepts

why

what for

wherefore

why the reason why

Synonyms

quare

Translations

warum

pourquoi

por qué

waarom

por que

weshalb

perché

weswegen

γιατί

wieso

per què

niçin

διατί

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈkuːr]

Etymology

From Old Latin quūr, quōr, from Proto-Italic *kʷōr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷór (“where”) (with pre-resonant and monosyllabic lengthening), from *kʷos (“interrogative determiner”) + *-r (“adverbial suffix”). For other Indo-European cognates, compare:
* Sanskrit कर्हि (kárhi, “when”), Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”) < *kʷór
* Old English hwǣr (“where”), Old High German hwār (“where”) < *kʷēr
* Albanian kur (“when”), Lithuanian kur̃ (“where, whither”), Armenian ուր (ur, “where”) < *kúr
* Norwegian Nynorsk kvar (“where”), Norwegian Nynorsk kor (“where”), Norwegian Bokmål hvor (“where”) < Old Norse hvar < Proto-Germanic *hwar < Proto-Indo-European *kʷór, from *kʷos (“which”)
See also quirquir (“wherever(?)”).