Where does “ei” come from?
ei (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-West Germanic aij, from English ice, from Middle English is, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic īs, from Proto-Germanic īsą, from Proto-Indo-European h₁eyH- — ice, frost.
Ancestry of “ei”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | aij | egg |
| 2 | English | ice | Water in frozen form; Any frozen volatile... |
| 3 | Middle English | is | ice; That which is short-lived like ice; icy... |
| 4 | Old English | īs | ice |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | īs | ice |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | īsą | ice |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁eyH- | ice, frost |