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I do not understand the usage of "why" in this sentence. Here, this word seems to be used as "because". Is this some kind of archaism?

(Dr. Dolittle, emphasis added):

… You are the very first man to talk like us. Oh, sometimes people annoy me dreadfully—such airs they put on—talking about ‘the dumb animals.’ Dumb!—Huh! Why I knew a macaw once who could say ‘Good morning!’ in seven different ways without once opening his mouth. He could talk every language—and Greek …

Kris
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Sixto Alonso
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  • Nope, not archaic. Could have been better punctuated. What did your dictionary search discover? – tchrist Oct 05 '19 at 01:36
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    Are you quoting from the original? Can you cite the source? This quotation for one, contains a comma in the right place. https://books.google.com/books?id=WETYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq="I+knew+a+macaw"&hl=en&q="Why, I%20knew%20a%20macaw%20once" – Kris Oct 05 '19 at 08:21
  • Kris - yes. A transcription or OCR error can multiply enormously. – Michael Harvey Oct 05 '19 at 12:06

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‘Why’ isn’t being used here with the same meaning as ‘because’, it is being used as an exclamation. Imagine that, instead of using ‘why’, the animal speaking used ‘Hell’, as in: “Hell, I knew a macaw once who could...”

Check out the second definition of ‘Why’ on the Cambridge English Dictionary site: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/why

It says: used to express surprise or anger

Here is an example of another sentence from the same site: “Why, if it isn't old Georgie Frazer!”

Also, considering the fact that you can join in on any gathering of old Southern women (American) and hear them use this as an exclamation more than once (especially, ‘Why, I never!’), I would say it isn’t archaic. But, I have no idea how long this exclamation has been in use.

MooNieu
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