Where does “was” come from?
Was comes from Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic was, from Proto-Indo-European h₂wes-, h₁ésmi, h₁ésti, and h₁es-, the root meaning "to be."
was (English): first-person singular simple past indicative of...
Definitions
- first-person singular simple past indicative of...
Ancestry of “was”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | was | First and third-person singular past indicative... |
| 2 | Old English | wæs | first/third-person singular preterite of bēon;... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | was | first/third-person singular past active... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂wes- | to dwell, live, reside; to stay, spend the night |