Where does “yr” come from?
yr (Old English) comes from Old Norse ýr, from Proto-Germanic īhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw-.
yr (Old English): the runic letter ᚣ
Ancestry of “yr”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | ýr | bow, yew; yew, a bow, the runic letter ᛦ |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | īhwaz | yew; name of the I-rune |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | *h₁eyHw- | — |