Where does “זײַן” come from?
זײַן (Yiddish) comes from Old High German sīn, from Proto-West Germanic sinn, from Proto-Germanic sinnaz, from Proto-Indo-European sentnós, from Proto-Indo-European sent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₁es- — to be.
זײַן (Yiddish): to be; isness, existence, reality; his
Definitions
- to be; isness, existence, reality; his
Ancestry of “זײַן”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old High German | sīn | his; to be |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | sinn | sense, perception; sense, meaning; reason, mental... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sinnaz | sense, perception; sense, meaning |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sentnós | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sent- | to head for, to go, to travel; to feel |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁es- | to be |