Where does “'y” come from?

'y (Old Tupi) comes from Proto-Hmong-Mien ʔɨ, from Old Chinese 一.

'y (Old Tupi): water

Definitions

  1. water

Ancestry of “'y”, step by step

'y traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Hmong-Mien ʔɨ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Hmong-Mienʔɨone
2Old Chinese一—

via Old Tupi 'u

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Tupi'uto ingest
2Proto-Tupi-Guarani*ʔuto eat

Words derived from “'y”

Every word from Old Chinese 一 →Every word from Proto-Hmong-Mien ʔɨ →