Where does “hi” come from?

hi (Middle English) comes from Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic hīz — nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...

hi (Middle English): Alternative form of I; Alternative form of he;...

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of I; Alternative form of he;...

Ancestry of “hi”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishheThird-person singular masculine pronoun: he; it;...
2Old Englishhēhey
3Proto-West Germanic*hiʀ—
4Proto-Germanichīznominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...
Every word from Proto-Germanic hīz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ →Every word from Old English hē →