Where does “ależ” come from?

ależ (Polish) comes from Old Polish ależ, from Old Polish ale, from Proto-Slavic ale — but, however.

ależ (Polish): used at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis

Definitions

  1. used at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis

Ancestry of “ależ”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Polishależbut
2Old PolishaleIntroduces a contrastive clause; but
3Proto-Slavicalebut, however
Every word from Proto-Slavic ale →Every word from Old Polish ale →Every word from Old Polish ależ →
ależ — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer