Where does “یا” come from?

یا (Ottoman Turkish) comes from Persian یا, from Arabic يَا — {{m|en|O|id=vocative}}.

Ancestry of “یا”, step by step

یا traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Persian یا

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1PersianیاAPI •; or; either
2Arabicيَا{{m|en|O|id=vocative}}

via Classical Persian یا

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Classical Persianیا—

Words derived from “یا”

Every word from Arabic يَا →Every word from Persian یا →