*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of we's

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wéyder. Proto-Germanic *wīz Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ Old English wē Middle English we English we English 's English we's From we + 's (contraction of is, has, and was).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
contraction

Contraction of we + is.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wéyder. Proto-Germanic *wīz Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ Old English wē Middle English we English we English 's English we's From we + 's (contraction of is, has, and was).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": ",",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ","
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "we<id:nominative>",
        "4": "'s<pos:contraction of is, has, and was>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wéyder.\nProto-Germanic *wīz\nProto-West Germanic *wiʀ\nOld English wē\nMiddle English we\nEnglish we\nEnglish 's\nEnglish we's\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wéy\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wīz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wiʀ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wē\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"we\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"we\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"'s\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\", \"pos\" : \"contraction of is, has<span class=\\\"serial-comma\\\">,<\\/span> and was\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"we's\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"we's\">\nFrom we + 's (contraction of is, has, and was)."
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "we<id:nominative>",
        "4": "[\"'s<pos:contraction of is, has\", <TEMPLATE([',']){} >, \" and was>\"]",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *wéyder.\nProto-Germanic *wīz\nProto-West Germanic *wiʀ\nOld English wē\nMiddle English we\nEnglish we\nEnglish 's\nEnglish we's\nFrom we + 's (contraction of is, has, and was)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*wéy",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wéy"
    ],
    [
      "*wīz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wīz"
    ],
    [
      "*wiʀ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wiʀ"
    ],
    [
      "wē",
      "we#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "we",
      "we#Middle_English:_pronoun"
    ],
    [
      "we",
      "we#English:_nominative"
    ],
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      "'s",
      "'s#English"
    ],
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      "we",
      "we#English:_nominative"
    ],
    [
      "'s",
      "'s#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "contraction",
      "glosses": [
        "Contraction of we + is."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Southern-US",
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "contraction"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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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 we'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-d2Uncw