Where does “Aye” come from?

Aye comes from Burmese အေး, a word of uncertain ultimate origin whose earlier etymology remains unestablished.

Aye (English): Ever, always

Definitions

  1. Ever, always

Ancestry of “Aye”, step by step

Aye traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English ay

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishayalways, constantly, unceasingly; eternally, forever
2Old Norseeyalways, ever; island
3Proto-Norse*ᚨᚢᛃᚢ—
4Proto-Germanicawjōfloodplain; meadow; island
5Proto-Germanicagwjō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ékʷeh₂water

via Burmese အေး

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Burmeseအေးcool, cold; calm, quiet; peaceful

Words derived from “Aye”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ →Every word from Proto-Germanic agwjō →Every word from Proto-Germanic awjō →