*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of y-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-West Germanic *ga- Old English ġe- Middle English y- English y- Inherited from Middle English y-, from Old English ġe- (perfectiv

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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 ↗
prefix

Used with past participle conjugations to form past participles.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-West Germanic *ga- Old English ġe- Middle English y- English y- Inherited from Middle English y-, from Old English ġe- (perfective and associative prefix); see those entries for more. Cognate with German ge-, Yiddish גע־ (ge-).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiony-enm
  • Inherited-form mentionġe-ang
  • Cognate mentionge-de
  • Cognate mentionגע־yi
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:y-<id:intensifier>",
        "id": "past participle",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Germanic *ga-\nProto-West Germanic *ga-\nOld English ġe-\nMiddle English y-\nEnglish y-\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ga-\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ga-\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ġe-\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"y-\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"y-\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"past participle\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"y-\" id=\"English:_past_participle\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "y-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English y-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "y-"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English y-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġe-",
        "pos": "perfective and associative prefix"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġe- (perfective and associative prefix)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ge-"
      },
      "expansion": "German ge-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "גע־"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish גע־ (ge-)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:y-<id:intensifier>",
        "id": "past participle",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Germanic *ga-\nProto-West Germanic *ga-\nOld English ġe-\nMiddle English y-\nEnglish y-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ḱe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱe#Proto-Indo-European:_here"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱóm#Proto-Indo-European:_beside"
    ],
    [
      "*ga-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ga-#Proto-Germanic:_together"
    ],
    [
      "*ga-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ga-#Proto-West_Germanic:_intensifier"
    ],
    [
      "ġe-",
      "ge-#Old_English:_intensifier"
    ],
    [
      "y-",
      "y-#Middle_English:_intensifier"
    ],
    [
      "y-",
      "y-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġe-",
      "ge-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ge-",
      "ge-#German"
    ],
    [
      "גע־",
      "גע־#Yiddish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Used with past participle conjugations to form past participles."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "717d72979d63e28244538b9fc4854144a97094d9fcad6f19dd33282c1a388be9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ade53a5eace675b1e21834be1cf78a9eeba2222e2ae6df48bf284e9ebcbc5181",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 202993
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "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 y- →

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-eS0