Where does “wha” come from?

wha (Scots) comes from Middle English wha, from Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.

wha (Scots): who

Definitions

  1. who

Ancestry of “wha”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwha—
2Old Englishhwāwho
3Proto-West Germanichwaʀwho
4Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
5Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwaz →