Where does “hey” come from?
hey (Middle English) comes from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic hīz — nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...
hey (Middle English): hay; hey; Alternative form of heye
Definitions
- hay; hey; Alternative form of heye
Ancestry of “hey”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | hē | hey |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *hiʀ | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hīz | nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these... |