Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “year” come from?

Year comes from Middle English yere, from Old English ġēar, from Proto-Germanic jērą, from Proto-Indo-European yōro-, ultimately from the root yeh₁r-.

year (English): A solar year, the time it takes the Earth to...

Definitions

  1. A solar year, the time it takes the Earth to...

Ancestry of “year”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishyeeryear
2Old Englishġēaryear
3Proto-West Germanicjāryear
4Proto-Germanicjērąyear; name of the J-rune
5Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₁r-year

Words derived from “year”

  • yr
  • yearbook
  • multiyear
  • yesteryear
  • yearlong
  • midyear
  • yearend
  • afteryears
  • schoolyear
  • yeared
  • birthyear
  • yearslong
  • overyear
  • packyear
  • gigayear
  • yearer
  • yeartime
  • yearful
  • donkey's
  • kiloyear
  • yeartide
  • megayear
  • yearbooklike
  • yearbooky
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₁r- →