English

easy

/ˈiːzi/

Comfortable; at ease.

Etymology graph

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Origin

From Middle English esy, eesy, partly from Middle English ese (“ease”) + -y, equivalent to ease + -y, and partly from Anglo-Norman eisé from Old French aisié (“eased, at ease, at leisure”), past participle of aisier (“to put at ease”), from aise (“empty space, elbow room, opportunity”), of uncertain origin. See ease. Merged with Middle English ethe, eathe (“easy”), from Old English īeþe, from Proto-Germanic *auþuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwtus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to enjoy, consume”). Compare also Old Saxon ōþi, Old High German ōdi, Old Norse auðr, auð-, Icelandic auð (adverb), auð-, all meaning "easy." More at ease, eath.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

rootProto-Indo-European*(H)yeh₁- “to throw, impel”
derivedMiddle Englishesy “comfortable, at ease”
- derivedMiddle Englishese “ease”
  - derivedAnglo-Normaneisé
    - derivedOld Frenchaisié “eased, at ease, at leisure”
      - derivedMiddle Englishethe “easy”
        derivedOld Englishīeþe “easy”
        derivedProto-Germanic*auþuz
        derivedProto-Indo-European*h₂éwtus
        derivedProto-Indo-European*h₂ew- “to perceive”
surface analysisEnglishease “Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.”
suffixEnglish-y “Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving…”
- inheritedMiddle English-y
  - derivedMiddle English-ie
  - inheritedOld English-iġ
  - inheritedProto-West Germanic*-ōn

Related: Old Saxon ōþi, Old High German ōdi, Old Norse auð-, Icelandic auð-

Words built on it: easy-like

Sources

Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary: easy

Origin

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

rootProto-Indo-European*(H)yeh₁- “to throw, impel”
derivedMiddle Englishesy “comfortable, at ease”
- derivedMiddle Englishese “ease”
  - derivedAnglo-Normaneisé
    - derivedOld Frenchaisié “eased, at ease, at leisure”
      - derivedMiddle Englishethe “easy”
        derivedOld Englishīeþe “easy”
        derivedProto-Germanic*auþuz
        derivedProto-Indo-European*h₂éwtus
        derivedProto-Indo-European*h₂ew- “to perceive”
surface analysisEnglishease “Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.”
suffixEnglish-y “Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving…”
- inheritedMiddle English-y
  - derivedMiddle English-ie
  - inheritedOld English-iġ
  - inheritedProto-West Germanic*-ōn

Related: Old Saxon ōþi, Old High German ōdi, Old Norse auð-, Icelandic auð-

Words built on it: easy-like