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Origin and history of yet

yet(adv.)

"in continuance of a former state" (while we were yet sinners); also "at or in the present time or juncture" (are we there yet?);" Middle English, from Old English get, gieta, also "till now, thus far, earlier; at last; additionally, in addition to" (a claim, remark, etc.), an Anglo-Frisian word (cognates: Old Frisian ieta, Middle High German ieuzo), of unknown origin; perhaps connected to PIE pronominal stem *i- (see yon).

The meaning in other Germanic languages is expressed by descendants of Proto-Germanic *noh- (e.g. German noch), from PIE *nu-qe- "and now."

As a conjunction from c. 1200, introducing an additional and somewhat adversative fact or circumstance. Phrase yet again "once more" is attested from mid-15c.

Entries linking to yet

yon(adj., pron.)

Middle English, from Old English geon "that or those," referring to objects at a distance, "that one (or those) over there," from Proto-Germanic *jaino-, source also of Old Frisian jen, Old Norse enn, Old High German ener, Middle Dutch ghens, German jener, Gothic jains "that, you."

This is reconstructed to be from PIE pronominal stem *i- (source also of Sanskrit ena-, third person pronoun, anena "that;" Latin idem "the same," id "it, that one;" Old Church Slavonic onu "he;" Lithuanian ans "he").

By late 14c. as "farther, more remote" in reference to another. As an adverb from late 15c., a shortening of yonder.

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    even
    Old English efen "level," also "equal, like; calm, harmonious; equally; quite, fully; namely," from Proto-Germanic *ebna- (source also of Old Saxon eban, Old Frisian even "level, plain, smooth," Dutch even, Old High German eban, German eben, Old Norse jafn, Danish jævn, Gothic ib
    still
    Old English stille "motionless, stable, fixed, stationary," from Proto-Germanic *stilli- (source also of Old Frisian, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stille, Dutch stil, Old High German stilli, German still), from suffixed form of PIE root *stel- "to put, stand, put in order," wi
    paradox
    belief or expectation," from French paradoxe (14c.) and directly from Latin paradoxum "paradox, statement seemingly absurd yet...Meaning "statement that is seemingly self-contradictory yet not illogical or obviously untrue" is from 1560s....Specifically in logic, "a statement or proposition from an acceptable premise and following sound reasoning that yet leads...
    encore
    1712, from French encore "still, yet, again, also, furthermore" (12c.), generally explained as being from Vulgar Latin phrase...*hinc ad horam "from then to this hour," or (in) hanc horam "(to) this hour" (Italian ancora "again, still, yet" is said...
    speedometer
    [T]he ancient Greeks & Romans knew what speed was, & yet no-one supposes they called it speed, whence it follows...
    jingo
    asseveration, by jingo was in colloquial use from 1690s (high jingo is attested from 1660s), and jingo here is apparently yet...The frequent suggestion that it somehow derives from Basque Jinkoa "god" is "not impossible" but is "as yet unsupported by...
    notwithstanding
    a negative present participle used as a quasi-preposition, originally and properly two words, late 14c., notwiþstondynge "in spite of, despite," from not + present participle of the verb withstand. It has the old "against" sense of with. A loan-translation of Medieval Latin non o
    get
    c. 1200, from Old Norse geta (past tense gatum, past participle getenn) "to obtain, reach; to be able to; to beget; to learn; to be pleased with," a word of very broad meaning, often used almost as an auxilliary verb, also frequently in phrases (such as geta rett "to guess right"
    far
    Middle English fer, from Old English feorr "far, remote, distant," from Proto-Germanic *ferera- (cognates: Old Saxon fer, Old Frisian fer, Old Norse fjarre, Dutch ver, Old High German ferro, German fern), probably a development in western Proto-Germanic from the adverb (see far (

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