Where does “hou” come from?

hou (Middle English) comes from Middle English yow, from Old English ēow, from Proto-West Germanic iwwiz, from Proto-Germanic izwiz, from Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ — you, thou.

hou (Middle English): Alternative form of yow

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of yow

Ancestry of “hou”, step by step

hou traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English yow

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishyowSecond-person plural object pronoun: you;...
2Old EnglishēowWo!, Alas!; sheep
3Proto-West Germaniciwwiz—
4Proto-Germanicizwizaccusative/dative/instrumental of *jūz
5Proto-Germanic*jūz—
6Proto-Indo-Europeantúh₂you, thou

via Old English hū

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhūhow
2Proto-Germanichwōhow, with what, by what means; instrumental of...
3Proto-Indo-European*kʷís—

Words derived from “hou”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ →Every word from Proto-Germanic *jūz →Every word from Proto-Germanic izwiz →