פֿאַרוואָס
Yiddish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From פֿאַר (far, “for”) + וואָס (vos, “what”). Possibly influenced by Slavic equivalents, compare Polish dlaczego (“why?”, literally “for what?”), Ukrainian наві́що (navíščo, “why, for what purpose, to what end?”, literally “for what?”), Russian заче́м (začém, “why, what for?”, literally “for what”), Russian за что́ (za štó, “why, what for?”, literally “for what?”), для чего (dlja čevo, “why, for what reason?”, literally “for what?”). Cognate with (colloquial) German für was (“why, for what?”), (humorous or nonstandard) English for what (“why, for what reason?”), see also English what for.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adverb
[edit]פֿאַרוואָס • (farvos)