English

we

/wiː/
Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)

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    Origin

    From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishwe
      • inheritedOld Englishwē
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*wiʀ
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*wīz
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*wéy “our”

    Related: Scots wee, North Frisian we, West Frisian wy, Low German wi, Dutch we, German wir, Norwegian vi, Icelandic vér, Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨, Sanskrit वयम्

    Words built on it: here we are

    Sources