Where does “yon” come from?
Yon derives from Middle English yon, from Old English ġeon, from Proto-Germanic jainaz, from Proto-Indo-European i-.
yon (English): That over there; of something distant, but...
Definitions
- That over there; of something distant, but...
Ancestry of “yon”, step by step
yon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English yon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | yon | that over there, yon |
| 2 | Old English | ġeon | that; yon |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *jain | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | jainaz | that over there, yon |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | i- | that; he; a pronomial stem |
via Korean 연
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korean | 연 | year |
| 2 | Chinese | 年 | year |
| 3 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | *s-ni(ŋ~k) | year |