Proto-Indo-European Roots

Proto-Indo-European Roots

*Root/Stem:*	*es-

*Meanings:*	to be

*Cognates (44):*	Greek eimi (I am), esti (is)
	Latin *sum* (I am), es < ess (thou art), est* (is), Oscan *ezum* (to be), *som* (I am)
	Common Celtic esmi (I am); > Gaulish emmi* (I am), *esti* (is)
	Common Germanic is- (to be), > Old English eom* (I am), *ist* (is), Gothic & Old High German *ist,* Old Frisian *is,* Old Norse *ert, German ist* (is), Dutch *is,* Danish & Norwegian er
	Common Baltic esmi (I am), > Old Lithuanian esmi* (I am), *esti* (is), Lithuanian *esu* (I am), *esi* (thou art), Prussian *asmai* (I am), Latvian *esmu* (I am), *esi* (thou art), Sudovian *esmai* (I am), *est* (is)
	Sanskrit & Vedic *asmi* (I am), *asti* (is); Khowar *asum* (I am)
	Common Anatolian es- (is), > Palaic ash-* (to be), Hieroglyphic Hittite *asa, sa* (to be), Nesian Hittite es-, Luwian *as-*, Lydian e-
	Avestan *ahmi* (I am), *asti* (is)
	Armenian em (I am) < *esmi
	Albanian *jam* (I am) < *esmi
	Common Slavic esmi (I am), > Ukrainian est'* (is), Belorussian *josc', Serbo-Croatian jesam* (I am), *jest* (is), Slovene je (is), Bulgarian *sum* (I am), je (is), Czech *jsem* (I am), *jest* (is), Slovak *som* (I am), Polish *jesm* (I am), *jest* (is), Sorbian je (is), Russian *jest'* (is)

Notes:	One of the most widespread Indo-European words, this verb is irregular everywhere and evidently was irregular in Proto-Indo-European as well; different forms of it are formed from different stems. The parallel stem with the same meaning is bhu- from which English 'to be' derives. These two stems are sometimes considered to have acted as "active - inactive", ie. es- meant only animate nouns.