Where does “De” come from?
De (Danish) comes from Old Norse þá, from Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic þan, from Proto-Germanic þam, from Proto-Indo-European tóm, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.
De (Danish): The formal counterpart to du, you
Definitions
- The formal counterpart to du, you
Ancestry of “De”, step by step
De traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Norse þá
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | þá | then, at that time; that; those |
| 2 | Germanic | *þan | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | þan | then, at that time |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | þam | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tóm | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |