Where does “was” come from?
was (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-Germanic was, from Proto-Indo-European h₂wes- — to dwell, live, reside; to stay, spend the night.
Ancestry of “was”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | was | first/third-person singular past active... |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂wes- | to dwell, live, reside; to stay, spend the night |