Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “yea-forsooth” come from?

yea-forsooth (English) comes from English yea, from Middle English yë, from Old English ġē, from Proto-Germanic jahw, from Proto-Germanic -hw, from Proto-Germanic -hwe, from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe — and; Forms distributives from interrogatives.

yea-forsooth (English): Pertaining to or indicative of one who says yea...

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to or indicative of one who says yea...

Ancestry of “yea-forsooth”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishyeaYes; Thus, so; Or even, or more like, nay
2Middle EnglishyëAlternative form of eie
3Old Englishġēye
4Proto-Germanicjahwand, also
5Proto-Germanic-hwand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
6Proto-Germanic-hwe—
7Proto-Indo-European-kʷeand; Forms distributives from interrogatives
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe →