is

is · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésti
3. Proto-Germanic*isti
4. Proto-West Germanic*ist
5. Old Englishis
6. Middle Englishis
7. English todayis

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.

is · pronoun²

Alternative pronunciation of us.

is · noun³

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Words from the same roots