*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of it's

Contraction of ‘it is’, ‘it has’ or 'it was'.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
contraction

Contraction of it + is. · Contraction of it + has. · Contraction of it + was. · There's, there is; there're, there are.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Contraction of ‘it is’, ‘it has’ or 'it was'.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Contraction",
      "contraction"
    ],
    [
      "it",
      "it"
    ],
    [
      "is",
      "is"
    ],
    [
      "has",
      "has"
    ],
    [
      "was",
      "was"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "contraction",
      "glosses": [
        "Contraction of it + is.",
        "Contraction of it + has.",
        "Contraction of it + was.",
        "There's, there is; there're, there are."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "contraction",
        "proscribed",
        "dialectal",
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "recordId": "1eb28fc5e0a2af61f025e1a9f7943817f2c06d20850ba8d125ed522a7c5fc20e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "33df76fdb3429259645bc43a95d8a553ecf688501816185d0a5f10257bbe04f0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15465
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
det

Obsolete form of its. · Misspelling of its.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From it + -’s (possessive marker).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Compound componentiten
  • Compound component-'sen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "compound",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "-'s",
        "alt2": "-’s",
        "pos2": "possessive marker"
      },
      "expansion": "it + -’s (possessive marker)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "it",
      "it#English"
    ],
    [
      "-’s",
      "-'s#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete form of its.",
        "Misspelling of its."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "obsolete",
        "misspelling"
      ],
      "recordId": "9f41b6152556514f84276de7e5e9c74b2927a2db52f343137e240b1a4aaf7dbb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3d8af54d6fb722516959453b2d146f69178af8898f1ea6910431b7342966f9a5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 15466
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for it's →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aXQncw