Where does “dem” come from?
dem (Nigerian Pidgin) comes from English them, from Middle English þem, from Old Norse þeim, from Proto-Germanic þaimaz, from Proto-Germanic sa, from Proto-Indo-European só — this; that.
dem (Nigerian Pidgin): them, they
Ancestry of “dem”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | them | Those ones; Him, her, or it; that one; Those |
| 2 | Middle English | þem | Third-person plural accusative pronoun: them;... |
| 3 | Old Norse | þeim | them, those |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | þaimaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sa | that |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |