euch (German)
Where does "euch" come from?
The German word 'euch' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *yúHs, a term for 'you' in the plural. Over time, it evolved into Proto-Germanic *izwiz and later Middle High German iuch, consistently serving as the accusative and dative form of the second-person plural pronoun. This ancient lineage links 'euch' to many modern Germanic counterparts, including the English word 'you'.
Full etymology tree
- euch (German), 'accusative and dative of ihr; you, yourselves'
- inherited iuch (Middle High German)
- inherited iuwih (Old High German), 'accusative plural of ir'
- inherited *iwwiz (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited *izwiz (Proto-Germanic), 'accusative/dative/instrumental of *jūz'
- derived *jūz (Proto-Germanic), 'you (plural)'
- inherited *yúHs (Proto-Indo-European), 'you (plural)'
- derived *túh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'you, thou (second-person singular pronoun)'
- inherited *yúHs (Proto-Indo-European), 'you (plural)'
- inherited *uswé (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *yúHs (Proto-Indo-European), 'you (plural)'
- derived *túh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'you, thou (second-person singular pronoun)'
- derived *yúHs (Proto-Indo-European), 'you (plural)'
- derived *jūz (Proto-Germanic), 'you (plural)'
- inherited *izwiz (Proto-Germanic), 'accusative/dative/instrumental of *jūz'
- inherited *iwwiz (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited iuwih (Old High German), 'accusative plural of ir'
- inherited iuch (Middle High German)
Ancestors
- iuwih (Old High German)
- *izwiz (Proto-Germanic)
- *yúHs (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- jou (Dutch)
- you (English)
- eowic (Old English)
- jo (West Frisian)
- אײַך (Yiddish)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris