Where does “gotchu” come from?
gotchu (English) comes from English Chu, from English You, from Middle English yow, from Old English ēow, from Proto-West Germanic iwwiz, from Proto-Germanic izwiz, from Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ — you, thou.
Ancestry of “gotchu”, step by step
gotchu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Chu
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Chu | An ancient Chinese viscounty and kingdom of the Zhou dynasty (circa 1030–223) along the Yangtze River |
| 2 | English | You | Honorific alternative letter-case form of you,... |
| 3 | Middle English | yow | Second-person plural object pronoun: you;... |
| 4 | Old English | ēow | Wo!, Alas!; sheep |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | iwwiz | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | izwiz | accusative/dative/instrumental of *jūz |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *jūz | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | túh₂ | you, thou |
via English got
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | got | simple past tense of get; past participle of get;... |