Where does “those've” come from?
those've (English) comes from English those, from Middle English thos, from Middle English tho, from Old English þā, from Proto-Germanic þai, from Proto-Indo-European to-, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.
Ancestry of “those've”, step by step
those've traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English those
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | those | plural of that |
| 2 | Middle English | thos | those |
| 3 | Middle English | tho | the |
| 4 | Old English | þā | the, those; then, when; those |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þai | they; those; nominative plural masculine of *sa |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | to- | it; that; the, that |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |
via English ’ve
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ’ve | in its sense marking the perfect or retrospective aspect |