Where does “い” come from?

い (Japanese) comes from Japanese や, from Japanese じゃ, from Japanese である, from Japanese で, from Japanese ぜ, from Japanese ぞえ, from Japanese え, from Middle Chinese 衣.

い (Japanese): Used in compounds with certain sentence-ending...

Definitions

Used in compounds with certain sentence-ending...

Ancestry of “い”, step by step

い traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese や

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Japanese	や	and/or; is, are; Alternative form of いや
2	Japanese	じゃ	so, then—used for connecting to a reasonable...
3	Japanese	である	To be: the copula, with the same function as だ and its polite form です
4	Japanese	で	at; with, by, using; indicating the following...
5	Japanese	ぜ	sentence-ending particle signifying emphasis,...
6	Japanese	ぞえ	sentence-ending particle signifying emphasis, used to lightly press one's point, with affectionate overtones
7	Japanese	え	Alternative form of い
8	Middle Chinese	衣	—

via Old Japanese い

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Old Japanese	い	—

Words derived from “い”

Every word from Middle Chinese 衣 →Every word from Japanese え →Every word from Japanese ぞえ →