Where does “if” come from?

if (French) comes from Middle French if, from Old French if, from Frankish īw, from Proto-Germanic īwaz, from Proto-Germanic īwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw- — yew.

if (French): yew

Definitions

  1. yew

Ancestry of “if”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchif—
2Old Frenchifyew; yew wood
3Frankishīw—
4Proto-Germanicīwazyew
5Proto-Germanicīwōyew
6Proto-Indo-European*h₁eyHw-yew
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw- →Every word from Proto-Germanic īwō →Every word from Proto-Germanic īwaz →