English

is

/ɪz/
Used in phrases with existential there (also here and where) when the semantic subject is plural.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English is, from Old English is, from Proto-West Germanic *ist, from Proto-Germanic *isti (a form of Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“is”).

    Cognate with West Frisian is (“is”), Dutch is (“is”), German ist (“is”), Yiddish איז (iz, “is”), Afrikaans is (“am, are, is”) Old Swedish är, er, Old Norse er, es.

    Further cognates include, among others, Latin est, Ancient Greek ἐστί (estí), Sanskrit अस्ति (asti), Persian است (ast), Russian есть (jestʹ), all with the same meaning.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishis
      • inheritedOld Englishis
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*ist
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*isti
            • derivedProto-Germanic*wesaną “to be”
              • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₁ésti “is”
                • derivedProto-Indo-European*h₁es- “to be”

    Related: West Frisian is, Dutch is, German ist, Yiddish איז, Afrikaans is, Old Swedish är, Old Norse er, Latin sum, Ancient Greek ἐστί, Sanskrit अस्ति, Persian است, Russian есть

    Words built on it: is-a, isn't

    Sources