Where does “my” come from?
my (Middle English) comes from Middle English mi, from Middle English min, from Old English mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic mīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European méynos, from Proto-Indo-European mei — to fix, to build fortifications or fences.
my (Middle English): Alternative form of mi
Ancestry of “my”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mi | First-person singular genitive determiner: my |
| 2 | Middle English | min | First-person singular genitive determiner: my;... |
| 3 | Old English | mīn | my, mine |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *mīn | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | mīnaz | my, mine; 1st person singular possessive |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | méynos | my; mine |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mei | to fix, to build fortifications or fences |