Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “я” come from?

я (Russian) comes from Old Church Slavonic ꙗзъ, from Proto-Slavic (j)azъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic ēź-, from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ — I.

я (Russian): The Cyrillic letter Я , я; I

Definitions

  1. The Cyrillic letter Я , я; I

Ancestry of “я”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Church Slavonicꙗзъ—
2Proto-Slavic(j)azъI
3Proto-Balto-Slavicēź-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanéǵh₂I
Every word from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ →