Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “'e's” come from?

'e's (English) comes from English 'e, from English he, from Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic hīz — nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...

Ancestry of “'e's”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English'ePronunciation spelling of he
2EnglishheA male person or animal already known or implied;...
3Middle EnglishheThird-person singular masculine pronoun: he; it;...
4Old Englishhēhey
5Proto-West Germanic*hiʀ—
6Proto-Germanichīznominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...
Every word from Proto-Germanic hīz →