Etymology Explorer › Proto-Germanic

Where does “hwes” come from?

hwes (Proto-Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.

Ancestry of “hwes”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
2Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
3Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root

Words derived from “hwes”

  • whose
  • whosesoever
  • whosever
  • hvis
  • hvis
  • whos
  • hwæs
  • wes
  • hwes
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →