Where does “de” come from?
de (Jamaican Creole) comes from English there, from Old English þær, from Proto-West Germanic þār, from Proto-Germanic þar, from Proto-Indo-European tar-, from Proto-Indo-European to-, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.
de (Jamaican Creole): present progressive tense marker used before verbs
Definitions
- present progressive tense marker used before verbs
Ancestry of “de”, step by step
de traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English there
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | there | In a place or location at some distance from the... |
| 2 | Old English | þær | there |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | þār | there |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | þar | there, in that place |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tar- | there |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | to- | it; that; the, that |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |
via Igbo dị
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igbo | dị | to be in a state of, have a certain quality |