Etymograph

English

yes

Yes comes from Old English ġīese ‘by all means, of course, yes’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġīese1‘by all means’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yes1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1913yes1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English yes
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan: “Yet a woman’s “yes” would have bound him to…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġīeseWiktionary, English yes‘by all means’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yesWiktionary, English yes
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1913yesWiktionary, English yes. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan: “Yet a woman’s “yes” would have bound him to…”

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Today it means

particle Used to show agreement or acceptance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “yes”. 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 / Old English ġīese / yes