Where does “ay” come from?

ay (Scots) comes from Middle English ey, from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic aij, from English ice, from Middle English is, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic īs, from Proto-Germanic īsą — ice, frost.

ay (Scots): yes

Definitions

  1. yes

Ancestry of “ay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englisheyegg; island; An exclamation of surprise,...
2Old Englishǣġegg
3Proto-West Germanicaijegg
4EnglishiceWater in frozen form; Any frozen volatile...
5Middle Englishisice; That which is short-lived like ice; icy...
6Old Englishīsice
7Proto-West Germanicīsice
8Proto-Germanicīsąice
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁eyH-ice, frost
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁eyH-Every word from Proto-Germanic īsąEvery word from Proto-West Germanic īs