A 'raison d'etre' is a reason for being. In the word-by-word translation, the noun 'raison' means 'reason'. The preposition 'd'' is the shortened form of 'de' before a noun that begins with a non-aspirated vowel. And the verb 'etre' means 'to be'. Perhaps the most famous example of an individual agonizing over the reason for living, life, and being is Hamlet, in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare [baptized April 26, 1564-April 23, 1616].