Where does “how've” come from?
how've (English) comes from English how, from Middle English how, from Old English hū, from Proto-Germanic hwō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís.
Ancestry of “how've”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | how | To what degree; In what manner; In what state |
| 2 | Middle English | how | — |
| 3 | Old English | hū | how |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwō | how, with what, by what means; instrumental of... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | *kʷís | — |