English
Etymology 1
From Middle English is, from Old English is, from Proto-Germanic *isti (a form of Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“is”). Cognate with West Frisian is (“is”), Dutch is (“is”), German ist (“is”), Old Swedish är, er, Old Norse er, es.
Pronunciation
Verb
is
- Third-person singular simple present indicative form of be
He is a doctor.
- 2012, Robert Moore, Where the Gold is Buried, a legend of Old Fort Niagara (→ISBN), page 137:
- "It's not two weeks yet," I reminded her, hoping that might somehow cheer her. [...] "Tomorrow is two weeks," Ruth said in a distant voice, staring into the flames.
- (now colloquial) Used in phrases with existential there when the semantic subject is a third-person plural.
There is three of them there.
c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene ii], page 141, column 2:Ber. There is five in the firſt ſhew, / Ken. You are deceiued, tis not so.
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Quotations
Synonyms
See also
Etymology 2
i + -s.
Pronunciation
Noun
is
- plural of i
- remember to dot your i's
Usage notes
- There is some difference of opinion regarding the use of apostrophes in the pluralization of references to letters as symbols. New Fowler's Modern English Usage, after noting that the usage has changed, states on page 602 that "after letters an apostrophe is obligatory." The 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style states in paragraph 7.16, "To avoid confusion, lowercase letters ... form the plural with an apostrophe and an s". The Oxford Style Manual on page 116 advocates the use of common sense.
Anagrams
AfarAfrikaans
Pronunciation
Verb
is
- am, are, is (present tense, all persons, plural and singular of wees, to be)
- Forms the perfect passive voice when followed by a past participle
BagusaCatalanCimbrian
Pronoun
is
- (Sette Comuni) Alternative form of es (“it”)
References
“is” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso, Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo, 1974
DanishDutchGothic
Romanization
is
- Romanization of 𐌹𐍃
Hungarian
Etymology
Doublet of és (“and”).
Pronunciation
Adverb
is (not comparable)
- also, too, as well
- Synonyms: szintén, ugyancsak, úgyszintén, éppúgy, szintúgy (formal; the others are relatively literary in style)
Én is szeretem a csokit. ― I, too, like chocolate (aside from other people).
(Én) a csokit is szeretem. ― I also like chocolate (aside from other things).
- even, up to, as much as, as long as
Három óráig is tarthat a műtét ― The operation may even take three hours.
- (after an interrogative word) again (used in a question to ask something one has forgotten)
Hogy is hívják? ― What's that called, again?
Derived terms
See also
Irish
Etymology 1
From agus.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
is
- reduced form of agus (“and; as”)
Dia is Muire duit.- Hello to you, too. (lit. God and Virgin Mary to you.)
- 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 1:
- wil nə fatī xō mŭȧ, s dūŕc šē?
- conventional orthography: An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé?
- Are the potatoes as good as he said?
- 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 1:
- ə ʒēĺǵə, l̄aurīr ə gūǵə mūn, ńī h-ønn̥̄ ī s ə ʒēlgə š agń̥ə
- conventional orthography: An Ghaeilge a labhraíthear i gCúige Mumhan, ní hionann í is an Ghaeilge seo againne.
- The Irish used in Munster isn’t the same as our Irish.
Etymology 2
From Old Irish is (“is”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪsˠ/, /sˠ/ (before nouns and adjectives)
- IPA(key): /ʃ/ (before the pronouns é, í, ea, iad)
Particle
is
- Present/future realis copula form
Is múinteoir é Dónall. ― Dónall is a teacher.
(definition: predicate is indefinite)
Is é Dónall an múinteoir. ― Dónall is the teacher.
(identification: predicate is definite)
Is féidir liom snámh. ― I can swim.
(idiomatic noun predicate)
Is maith liom tae. ― I like tea.
(idiomatic adjective predicate)
Is mise a chonaic é. ― I'm the one who saw him.
(compare Hiberno-English "'Tis I who saw him"; cleft sentence)
Is é Dónall atá ina mhúinteoir. ― It's Dónall who is a teacher.
(cleft sentence)
- Used to introduce the comparative/superlative form of adjectives
an buachaill is mó ― the bigger boy; the biggest boy
Is mó an buachaill ná Séamas.- The boy is bigger than James.
Is é Séamas an buachaill is mó in Éirinn!- James is the biggest boy in Ireland! (lit. "It is James (who is) the boy (who) is biggest in Ireland")
Usage notes
- Used in the present and future for identification or definition of a subject as the person/object identified in the predicate of the sentence. Sometimes used with noun or adjective predicates, especially in certain fixed idiomatic phrases. Used to introduce cleft sentences, which are extremely common in Irish. It is not a verb.
- The copula does not exist in the imperative and does not have a nominal form analogous to the verbal noun. The phrase bí i do (literally “be in your”) is used as the imperative instead (e.g. Bí i d’fhear! – “Be a man!” (lit. “Be in your man!”)), and equivalent non-copular nominal constructions must be used in place of their hypothetical copular equivalents: bheith ábalta (“to be able”, in place of the non-existent nominal form of is féidir), bheith ag iarraidh (“to want”, in place of the non-existent nominal form of is mian), bheith ina (“to be”, as with the imperative), etc.
- In comparative/superlative formations, is is strictly speaking the relative of the copula, hence an buachaill is mó literally means "the boy who is biggest", i.e. "the biggest boy". The thing compared is introduced by ná (“than”).
Related terms
Irish copular forms
Simple copular forms
Present/future
|
---|
|
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Neg. inter.
|
---|
Main clauses
|
is |
ní |
an |
nach
| Direct relative clauses
|
nach
|
|
---|
Indirect relative clauses |
ar, arbv | Other subordinate clauses |
gur, gurbv |
an |
nach
| Past/conditional
|
---|
|
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Neg. inter.
|
---|
Main clauses |
ba, b’v |
níor, níorbhv |
ar, arbhv |
nár, nárbhv | Direct relative clauses |
ba, abv |
nár, nárbhv |
|
---|
Indirect relative clauses |
ar, arbhv | Other subordinate clauses |
gur, gurbhv |
ar, arbhv |
nár, nárbhv | Present subjunctive
|
|
---|
|
Affirmative |
Negative
|
---|
gura, gurabv |
nára, nárabv |
|
|
Compound copular forms
Base word |
Present/future |
Past/conditional
|
---|
má |
más |
má ba, má b’v | ó (“since”) |
ós |
ó ba, ó b’v | dá
|
|
dá mba, dá mb’v |
---|
mura |
mura, murabv |
murar, murarbhv | cé |
cér, cérbv |
cér, cérbhv | cá |
cár, cárbv |
cár, cárbhv | de/do |
dar, darbv |
dar, darbhv | faoi |
faoinar, faoinarbv |
faoinar, faoinarbhv | i |
inar, inarbv |
inar, inarbhv | le |
lenar, lenarbv |
lenar, lenarbhv | ó (“from”) |
ónar, ónarbv |
ónar, ónarbhv | trí |
trínar, trínarbv |
trínar, trínarbhv |
|
v Used before vowel sounds
|
KwerbaLacandonLatin
Etymology 1
From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.
Pronunciation
Determiner
is (feminine ea, neuter id); demonstrative pronoun
- (Third-person singular pronoun) he, it (referring to masculine nouns); (demonstrative) this, that
- Is mihi rescripsit.
- He wrote back to me.
- Is amicus est vir bonus.
- This friend is a good man.
Declension
Demonstrative pronoun.
1The nom./dat./abl. plural forms regularly developed into a monosyllable /iː(s)/, with later remodelling - compare the etymology of deus. This /iː/ was normally spelled as EI during and as II after the Republic; a disyllabic iī, spelled II, Iꟾ, apears in Silver Age poetry, while disyllabic eīs is only post-Classical. Other spellings include EEI(S), EIEI(S), IEI(S).
2The dat. singular is found spelled EIEI (here represented as ēī) and scanned as two longs in Plautus, but also as a monosyllable. The latter is its normal scansion in Classical. Other spellings include EEI, IEI.
Derived terms
Related terms
type |
interrogative |
indefinite |
(medial) demonstrative |
proximal demonstrative |
distal demonstrative |
relative |
indefinite relative |
identity |
other
|
---|
basic
|
quis, quī |
quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quisque, quisquam, aliquisquam, quispiam, ūllus |
is, iste, istic |
hic |
ille, illic |
quī |
quisquis, quīcumque |
ipse, īdem |
alter, alius
|
---|
dual
|
uter |
alteruter, uterque |
|
|
|
uter |
utercumque |
|
|
---|
number
|
quot |
aliquot |
tot |
|
|
quot |
quotquot, quotcumque |
totidem |
|
---|
order
|
quotus |
|
totus |
|
|
quotus |
quotuscumque |
|
|
---|
quantity
|
quam |
aliquam |
tam |
|
|
quam |
†quamquam |
†tamen, †tandem |
|
---|
size
|
quantus |
aliquantus |
tantus |
|
|
quantus |
quantuscumque |
tantusdem |
|
---|
quality
|
quālis |
aliquālis |
tālis |
|
|
quālis |
quālis, quāliscumque |
|
|
---|
manner
|
ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum |
utique, quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō |
ita, sic, eō/istō modō |
hōc modō |
illō modō |
ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum |
utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque |
item, itidem |
aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
|
---|
method, path, place
|
quā |
aliquā, quāque |
eā, istāc |
hāc |
illāc |
quā |
quāquā, quācumque |
eādem |
aliā
|
---|
place
|
ubi |
alicubi, ubique, usquam, uspiam |
ibi, istic |
hīc |
illīc |
ubi |
ubiubi, ubicumque |
ibidem |
alibī, aliās
|
---|
source
|
unde |
alicunde, undeunde |
inde, istinc |
hinc |
illinc |
unde |
undecumque |
indidem |
aliunde
|
---|
destination
|
quō, quōrsum |
aliquō, quōquam, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum |
eō, istūc, °istōrsum |
hūc, °hōrsum |
illūc, °illōrsum |
quō |
quōquō, quōcumque |
eōdem |
aliō, aliorsum
|
---|
time
|
quandō |
quondam, aliquandō, quandōque, umquam |
tum, tunc |
num, nunc |
ōlim |
cum, quandō |
cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque |
simul |
aliās
|
---|
exact time
|
quota hora |
|
ea/ista hora |
hac hora |
illa hora |
quota hora |
quotacumque hora |
eadem hora |
altera/alia hora
|
---|
repetition
|
quotiēns |
aliquotiēns |
totiēns |
|
|
quotiēns |
quotiēnscumque |
|
|
---|
multiplication
|
quotuplex |
|
totuplex |
|
|
quotuplex |
|
|
|
---|
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare
|
See also
Latin personal pronouns together with the possessive and reflexive pronouns
Number
|
Person
|
Gender
|
Nominative
|
Genitive
|
Dative
|
Accusative
|
Ablative
|
Possessive
|
---|
Singular |
First |
—
|
ego
|
meī
|
mihi
|
mē
|
meus, -a, -um
|
---|
Second |
—
|
tū
|
tuī
|
tibi
|
tē
|
tuus, -a, -um
|
---|
Reflexive third
|
—
|
—
|
suī
|
sibi
|
sē, sēsē
|
suus, -a, -um
|
---|
Third
|
Masculine
|
is
|
eius
|
eī
|
eum
|
eō
|
eius
|
---|
Feminine
|
ea
|
eam
|
eā
|
---|
Neuter
|
id
|
id
|
eō
|
---|
Plural |
First |
—
|
nōs
|
nostrī, nostrum
|
nōbīs
|
nōs
|
nōbīs
|
noster, -tra, -trum
|
---|
Second |
—
|
vōs
|
vestrī, vestrum
|
vōbīs
|
vōs
|
vōbīs
|
vester, -tra, -trum
|
---|
Reflexive third
|
—
|
—
|
suī
|
sibi
|
sē, sēsē
|
suus, -a, -um
|
---|
Third
|
Masculine
|
eī, iī
|
eōrum
|
eīs
|
eōs
|
eīs
|
eōrum
|
---|
Feminine
|
eae
|
eārum
|
eās
|
eārum
|
---|
Neuter
|
ea
|
eōrum
|
ea
|
eōrum
|
---|
Etymology 2
Inflected form of eō (“go”).
Pronunciation
Verb
īs
- second-person singular present active indicative of eō
References
- is in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden, Latin Phrase-Book[3], London: Macmillan and Co., 1894
- to sum up..: ut eorum, quae dixi, summam faciam
- (ambiguous) those to whom we owe our being: ei, propter quos hanc lucem aspeximus
- (ambiguous) from youth up: a puero (is), a parvo (is), a parvulo (is)
- (ambiguous) he feels better: melius ei factum est
- (ambiguous) Fortune's favourite: is, quem fortuna complexa est
- (ambiguous) to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
- (ambiguous) no word escaped him: nullum verbum ex ore eius excidit (or simply ei)
- (ambiguous) he is in a suspicious mood: suspicio ei penitus inhaeret
- (ambiguous) the debtor: debitor, or is qui debet
- (ambiguous) the creditor: creditor, or is cui debeo
- is in The Perseus Project, Perseus Encyclopedia[4], 1999
- is in Harry Thurston Peck, editor, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1898
- is in William Smith, editor, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly, 1854, 1857
Middle DutchMiddle English
Etymology 1
From Old English īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą; from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyHsom (“ice”).
Alternative forms
- ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
Pronunciation
Noun
is (uncountable)
- ice (frozen water):
- A layer of frozen water as a surface.
- (rare) An individual portion of ice.
- (rare, figuratively) That which is short-lived like ice.
- (rare) icy conditions
Derived terms
Descendants
References
Etymology 2
From Old English is, third-person present singular of wesan (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *isti, third-person present singular of *wesaną (“to be, become”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Verb
is
-
- Synonym: bith
Descendants
Etymology 3
Determiner
is
- Alternative form of his (“his”)
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“his”)
Etymology 4
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“her”)
Etymology 5
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“them”)
Etymology 6
Noun
is (plural isnes)
- Alternative form of iren (“iron”)
Navajo
Interjection
is
- as if, as if it were true, it could be, is it really?, what do you mean by that?, so you say expressing surprise
Usage notes
Usually spelled with the final letter repeated: iss, isss, issss.
Alternative forms
Norwegian BokmålNorwegian NynorskNyishiOld English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-, *ey-, *ī- (“ice, frost”). Cognate with Old Frisian īs (West Frisian iis), Old Saxon īs (Low German Ies), Dutch ijs, Old High German īs (German Eis), Old Norse íss (Danish and Swedish is), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis). There are parallels in many Iranian languages, apparently from the same Indo-European root: Avestan 𐬀𐬉𐬑𐬀 (aēxa, “frost, ice”), Persian یخ (yax), Pashto جح (jaḥ), Ossetian их (ix).
Pronunciation
Noun
īs n
- ice
Hit is swā ċeald þæt wæter sōna tō īse ġefrīest.- It's so cold that water immediately freezes to ice.
- the Legend of St Andrew
Ofer ēastrēamas īs bryċġode.- The ice formed a bridge over the streams.
- the runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)
Declension
Declension of is (strong-a-stem)
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle English: is, ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
Old High GermanOld Irish
Etymology
The lemma is itself is from Proto-Celtic *esti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti; other forms are from either *h₁es- or *bʰuH-.
Verb
is
- to be
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 14d26
- Is i persin Crist da·gníu-sa sin.
- It is in the person of Christ that I do that.
Usage notes
This is the so-called "copula", which is distinct from the "substantive verb" at·tá. The copula is used with noun predicates and to introduce a cleft sentence.
Conjugation
See {{sga-conj-is}}
for the complete conjugation.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- cesu (“although... is”)
- condid (“so that... is”)
- in (“is... ?”)
- masu (“if... is”)
- ní (“is not”)
Descendants
- Irish: is
- Manx: s’
- Scottish Gaelic: is
Further reading
- “1 is”, in Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors, eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, 2019
- Thurneysen, Rudolf; D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1940, reprinted 2003, →ISBN, §§ 791–818, pages 483–94
- Holger Pedersen, Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen (in German), volume II, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1913, →ISBN, pages 419–431
Old Saxon
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *it.
Pronoun
is (is)
- his, its
Declension
Old Saxon personal pronouns
Personal pronouns
|
Singular
|
1.
|
2.
|
3. m
|
3. f
|
3. n
|
Nominative
|
ik
|
thū
|
hē
|
siu
|
it
|
Accusative
|
mī, me, mik
|
thī, thik
|
ina
|
sia
|
Dative
|
mī
|
thī
|
imu
|
iru
|
it
|
Genitive
|
mīn
|
thīn
|
is
|
ira
|
is
|
|
Dual
|
1.
|
2.
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Nominative
|
wit
|
git
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Accusative
|
unk
|
ink
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Dative
|
Genitive
|
unkero
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Plural
|
1.
|
2.
|
3. m
|
3. f
|
3. n
|
Nominative
|
wī, we
|
gī, ge
|
sia
|
sia
|
siu
|
Accusative
|
ūs, unsik
|
eu, iu, iuu
|
Dative
|
ūs
|
im
|
Genitive
|
ūser
|
euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera
|
iro
|
Etymology 2
Verb
is
- third-person singular present indicative of wesan
Etymology 3
From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”). Cognate with Old Frisian īs (West Frisian iis), Old English īs (English ice), Dutch ijs, Old High German īs (German Eis), Old Norse íss (Danish and Swedish is), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis).
Noun
īs n
- ice
- The runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)
Declension
Declension of īs (neuter a-stem)
Descendants
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Noun
is
- plural of i
- 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 411:
- Se você pôs os pingos nos is e cortou os tês então pode fazer o que quiser!
- If you've dotted your I's and crossed your T's, then you can do whatever you want!
ScotsScottish Gaelic
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Old Irish ocus (“and”)
Conjunction
is
- and
Synonyms
Etymology 2
From Old Irish is, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”).
Verb
is
- am, are, is
Usage notes
- This defective verb doesn't have the infinitive, future tense, subjunctive or conditional moods.
- The dependent form, used after particles, is e.
- Is is used when linking the subject of a sentence with an object ("somebody is somebody", "somebody is something", "something is something"), otherwise forms of the verb bi are used:
Is mise Dòmhnall. ― I am Donald.
Tha mise ann an taigh-seinnse. ― I am in a pub.
Derived terms
SwedishTok PisinTurkishVolapükWelsh