Where does “они” come from?
они (Old East Slavic) comes from Proto-Slavic *onъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic anas, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en — there.
Ancestry of “они”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Slavic | *onъ | — |
| 2 | Proto-Balto-Slavic | anas | that over there, yonder |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en | there |