Where does “ajvé” come from?
ajvé (Hungarian) comes from Yiddish אוי וויי, from Middle High German ōwē, from Middle High German wē, from Old High German wē, from Proto-West Germanic wai, from Proto-Germanic wai, from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.
ajvé (Hungarian): oy vey
Ancestry of “ajvé”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Yiddish | אוי וויי | oh, ah, ugh, oy; oh no, woe is me; ouch |
| 2 | Middle High German | ōwē | — |
| 3 | Middle High German | wē | — |
| 4 | Old High German | wē | woe |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | wai | woe!, alas! |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | wai | woe! alas! |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wai | oh!; woe! |