English
year
Year comes from Old English ġēar ‘year’, from Proto-Germanic *jērą ‘year’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ ‘year, spring’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yóh₁r̥1‘year; growing season’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jērą1‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jār1‘year’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ġēar1‘year’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yeer1
- Englishearliest quotation 2008year1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English year
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect: “Shepard: What can you tell me about the Citadel…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yóh₁r̥Wiktionary, English year‘year; growing season’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jērąWiktionary, English year‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jārWiktionary, English year‘year’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ġēarWiktionary, English year‘year’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yeerWiktionary, English year
- Englishearliest quotation 2008yearWiktionary, English year. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect: “Shepard: What can you tell me about the Citadel…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with year, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’
- project ← prōiectus ← prōiciō ← iaciō ← *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként
- disease ← disese ← desese ← desaise ← eise
- object ← obiectum ← obiectus ← obiciō ← iaciō
- jet ← get ← *iectus ← iactus ← iaciō
- adjacent ← adiacēns ← adiaceō ← iaceō ← iaciō
- injection ← iniectio ← iniciō ← iaciō ← *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként
- ease ← ese ← ese ← eise ← adiacēns
- jess ← ges ← gies ← *iectus ← iactō
- trajectory ← trāiectōria ← trāiectus
- inject ← iniectus ← injiciō ← iaciō ← *jak-i-
- conjecture ← coniectūra ← coniectus ← cōniciō ← iaciō
- catheter ← καθετήρ ← καθίημι ← ἵημι ← *yīyēmi
69 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A period of time akin to the time taken for the Earth to undergo a full cycle of seasons.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “year”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ / year