Where does “いや” come from?

いや (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.

いや (Japanese): disagreeable, unpleasant, disgusting, offensive, abhorrent

Definitions

disagreeable, unpleasant, disgusting, offensive, abhorrent

Ancestry of “いや”, step by step

いや 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 Japanese 否

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Japanese	否	no

Words derived from “いや”

いやいや

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