Where does “jakby” come from?

jakby (Polish) comes from Old Polish jakby, from Old Polish -by, from Old Polish by, from Proto-Slavic *by.

jakby (Polish): introduces an unreal conditional; if

Definitions

  1. introduces an unreal conditional; if

Ancestry of “jakby”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Polishjakbyas if, like
2Old Polish-by[[conditional mood
3Old Polishbyintroduces a clause of aim; to, so that, in order to
4Proto-Slavic*by—
Every word from Proto-Slavic *by →Every word from Old Polish -by →Every word from Old Polish by →