Where does “wi” come from?
wi (Low German) comes from Middle Low German wi, from Old Saxon wī, from Proto-West Germanic wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic wīz, from Proto-Indo-European wéy, from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ — I.
Ancestry of “wi”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | wi | we; Alternative form of wê |
| 2 | Old Saxon | wī | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | wiʀ | we |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wīz | we |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | wéy | we |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | éǵh₂ | I |