Where does “nə” come from?

nə (Khalaj) comes from Persian نه, from Middle Persian nwk', from Old Persian 𐎴𐎺, from Proto-Iranian Hnáwa, from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hnáwa, from Proto-Indo-European h₁néwn̥ — nine.

nə (Khalaj): what a, how

Definitions

  1. what a, how

Ancestry of “nə”, step by step

nə traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Persian نه

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianنهnot; no; nine
2Middle Persiannwk'—
3Old Persian𐎴𐎺nine
4Proto-IranianHnáwa—
5Proto-Indo-IranianHnáwanine
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁néwn̥nine

via Proto-Turkic nē-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Turkicnē-what; interrogative archetype

Words derived from “nə”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁néwn̥ →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian Hnáwa →Every word from Proto-Iranian Hnáwa →