Where does “yours” come from?
yours (Middle English) comes from Middle English youres, from Middle English your, from Old English ēower, from Proto-West Germanic iuwar, from Proto-Germanic izweraz, from Proto-Germanic jūz, from Proto-Indo-European yū́, from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ — you, thou.
yours (Middle English): Alternative form of youres
Definitions
- Alternative form of youres
Ancestry of “yours”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | youres | Second-person plural genitive pronoun: yours;... |
| 2 | Middle English | your | Alternative form of youre |
| 3 | Old English | ēower | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | iuwar | your, yours, of you |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | izweraz | your; 2nd person plural possessive |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | jūz | you |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yū́ | you |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | túh₂ | you, thou |