Where does “הוא” come from?

הוא (Hebrew) comes from Hebrew הָוָה — to be.

הוא (Hebrew): he, it; is; Archaic spelling of הִיא

Definitions

  1. he, it; is; Archaic spelling of הִיא

Ancestry of “הוא”, step by step

הוא traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hebrew הָוָה

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hebrewהָוָהto be

via Proto-Semitic *šuʔa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Semitic*šuʔahe (masculine third-person singular personal pronoun)
Every word from Hebrew הָוָה
הוא — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer