warum

== German == === Etymology === From Middle High German warumme, war umme, warumbe, war umbe, from Old High German wār umbe. Equivalent to wo (“where”) +‎ um (“in order to, for the purpose of”), thus “for what purpose”. Doublet of worum, but with the older vocalism preserved. Compare Dutch waarom, which has both meanings. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /vaˈʁʊm/ (usual) IPA(key): /ˈvaː.ʁʊm/ (never in isolation, but sometimes triggered by the intonation of a sentence) Rhymes: -ʊm === Adverb === warum why; for what reason Warum ist die Banane krumm? ― Why are bananas curved? ==== Derived terms ==== irgendwarum === See also === weshalb weswegen wieso === Further reading === “warum” in Duden online “warum”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) == Old English == === Noun === warum dative plural of waru