Where does “-on” come from?

-on (Proto-Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Ancestry of “-on”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
2Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
3Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
4Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
5Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “-on”

Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ōną →