yet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /jɛt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English yet, also yit,^[2][3] inherited from Old English ġīet, ġīeta, also ġȳt and ġēta,^[4][5][2] an Anglo-Frisian word whose only close cognate is Old Frisian iēta (also ēta, īta).^[6][7][8] Most dictionaries call it of unknown origin;^[8][4][9] Etymonline suggests a link with the pronominal stem Proto-Indo-European *i-.^[7] It has long been taken for an old compound,^[5] and Weekley and Skeat compared German jetzt (“now”), from Middle High German iezuo.^[10][11] Liberman, following Berneker, reconstructs a protoform *iu-ta, from *iu “already” and an intensifying particle *-ta, with ġēta from a parallel *ē-ta.^[5] He adds Middle Low German jetto and Dutch ooit (“ever”) to the relatives and rejects the Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Welsh words cited in older dictionaries.^[5] Other Germanic languages express the sense with descendants of Proto-Germanic *noh-, such as German noch.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Besides, also (about 725, in Beowulf).^[6]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart's dates show the order of the Old English senses: “besides, also” (about 725), “at last, ultimately” (before 899) and “till now, thus far” (about 1000).^[6] The OED also records yet strengthening a comparative (yet more) from about 888.^[12] The conjunction “nevertheless, but” developed from the adverb before 1200.^[6][13] Liberman explains the short vowel of yet by the word's frequent lack of stress in the sentence; the old form yit survives in dialect.^[5] The Anglian synonyms gēna and gīena did not survive into Middle English.^[5] A rare adjective, “still continuing” (the yet ruler), is recorded from 1606.^[2] In North America, yet at the end of a sentence as an ironic intensifier imitates Yiddish noch.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English ġīet, besides, also (Beowulf).^[6]
• c. 888 – strengthening a comparative, “even more”.^[12][5]
• before 899 – at last, ultimately.^[6]
• c. 1000 – till now, thus far.^[6]
• before 1200 – conjunction, nevertheless, but.^[6]
• 1606 – adjective, still continuing.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. Up to now; so far: they're not home yet.
2. At this time, as opposed to later: we can't stop yet.
3. At some future time; eventually: he may yet change his mind.
4. In addition: yet another helping.
5. Even, still more: a yet sadder tale.
6. Nevertheless: young yet wise.

Conjunction

1. But at the same time; despite this.

Related words

• still
• even

Usage notes

In formal style, yet meaning “up to now” goes with the present perfect (he hasn't started yet) rather than the simple past (he didn't start yet).^[14]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Liberman, Anatoly (2008), An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
14. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin