Hwarfore

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Archaic term asking for what reason something happens ; linking a clause to show the consequence it produces ; a reason, motive or cause behind an event
2. Old-fashioned question meaning why or for what cause ; connecting word meaning for which reason and so ; a noun for the grounds or motive behind something
3. An archaic way of asking why ; a formal link meaning as a result of which ; the cause, ground or motive that explains an action

Etymology: "Hwarfore" is an Old English compound, built from "hwær" ("where") and "fore" ("for", in the sense of "because of" or "on account of"), so it literally meant "for what" or "wherefore." It is attested in Old English and survived into Middle English as a question word meaning "why," the sense it still carries in the phrase "wherefore art thou Romeo," where Juliet is asking why Romeo is who he is, not where he is. Its meaning shifted over the centuries. In Early Modern English it was used both as a question and as a connective meaning "for which reason" or "therefore," and it is this sense that survives in formal legal and archaic writing. The spelling "hwarfore" itself is an Old English form; later English wrote it as "wherefore," reflecting the change in how the initial "hw" was pronounced.