1. Question word; what is the reason
   "why are you here?";
   - how come

1. The cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase ‘the whys and wherefores’
   "She wanted to understand the whys and wherefores of the company's new policy";
   - wherefore [archaic]

Sounds like: whistt, why

Derived forms: whys

Type of: ground, occasion, reason

Encyclopedia: Why, Soldiers, Why