Where does “iam estis” come from?
iam estis (Esperanto) comes from Esperanto estis, from Esperanto esti, from French est, from Middle French est, from Old French est, from Latin est, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ésti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁es- — to be.
iam estis (Esperanto): once upon a time stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events
Definitions
- once upon a time stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events
Ancestry of “iam estis”, step by step
iam estis traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Esperanto estis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esperanto | estis | past of esti |
| 2 | Esperanto | esti | to be |
| 3 | French | est | east; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 4 | Middle French | est | third-person singular present indicative of estre |
| 5 | Old French | est | third-person singular present indicative of estre |
| 6 | Latin | est | third-person singular present active indicative... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ésti | to be |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁es- | to be |