Where does “esi” come from?
esi (Ingrian) comes from Proto-Finnic eci, from Albanian *etës, from Proto-Albanian *aitatja, from Proto-Indo-European h₁éyti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- — to go.
Ancestry of “esi”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Finnic | eci | before; in front |
| 2 | Albanian | *etës | — |
| 3 | Proto-Albanian | *aitatja | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁éyti | to go, to be going |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ey- | to go |