Etymology

yeast

Y4E1A1S1T1

Today it means: An often humid, yellowish froth produced by fermenting malt worts, and used to brew beer, leaven bread, and also used in certain medicines. Full definition →

Middle English yest ← Old English ġist ← Proto-West Germanic *jestu
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yeast · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*jestuz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*jestu
  3. Old English · inherited fromġist
  4. Middle English · inherited fromyest
  5. English todayyeast

From Middle English yest, yeest, gest, gist, from Old English ġist, ġyst, from Proto-West Germanic *jestu, from Proto-Germanic *jestuz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jääst (“yeast”), West Frisian gêst, gist (“yeast”), Dutch gist (“yeast”), German Low German Gest (“yeast”), German Gischt (“sea foam”), Swedish jäst (“yeast”), Norwegian jest (“yeast”), Icelandic jöstur (“yeast”).

Yeast · proper noun2

Unexplained.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.