Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “ȝea” come from?

ȝea (Middle English) comes from Old English ġēa, from Proto-West Germanic jā, from Proto-Germanic ja, from Proto-Indo-European yē — already.

Ancestry of “ȝea”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishġēayes, yea; district, region; yea, yes
2Proto-West Germanicjāyes; thus, so
3Proto-Germanicjayes; thus, so
4Proto-Indo-Europeanyēalready

Words derived from “ȝea”

  • yeah
  • yea
  • yay
  • yeasay
  • yea-forsooth
  • yayness
  • yey
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yē →