is

See also: Appendix:Variations of "is"

Languages (41)

Translingual • English

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

is

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Icelandic.

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English is, from Old English is, from Proto-West Germanic *ist, 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”), Yiddish איז (iz, “is”), Afrikaans is (“am, are, is”) Old Swedish är, er, Old Norse er, es.

Further cognates include, among others, Latin est, Ancient Greek ἐστί (estí), Sanskrit अस्ति (asti), Persian است (ast), Russian есть (jestʹ), all with the same meaning.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɪz/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɘz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪz

Verb

is

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of be

   He is a doctor.

   • 1999 January 8, Ken Starr, quoting Bill Clinton, Referral from Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirements of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c) (Starr Report)‎^[1], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, retrieved 14 February 2020, page 176:

     "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

   • 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.

2. (now colloquial) Used in phrases with existential there (also here and where) when the semantic subject is plural.

   There is three of them there.

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 141, column 2:

     Ber. There is five in the firſt ſhew, / Ken. You are deceiued, tis not so.

3. (dialectal) present indicative of be; am, are, is.
   • 2001, “Witness (1 Hope)”, in Run Come save me, performed by Roots Manuva:

     Let the whole world know we's on some off-key tip

   • 2012, Trae Macklin, Flippin' The Hustle:

     "Them niggas shot my girl, yo! And I ain't gonna sleep until all of them niggas is dead!" RJ hissed.

   • 2013, Tu-Shonda Whitaker, The Ex Factor, page 270:

     "Y'all is some disorganized niggahs," Mama Byrd said.

   • 2016, “Don't Hurt Yourself”, in Lemonade, performed by Beyoncé:

     Who the fuck do you think I is? / You ain't married to no average bitch, boy

   • 2022, “Plan B”, performed by Megan Thee Stallion:

     Nigga, yeah, you's a bitch

   • 2023, “Barbie World”, in Barbie: The Album, performed by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice:

     Like Jazzie, Stacie, Nicki / All of the Barbies is pretty / All of the Barbies is bad

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:is.

Alternative forms

• ees
• 's
• iz

Synonyms

• beeth (archaic)
• bes (now AAVE)

Derived terms

• as-is

See also

See also

• am
• are
• art
• be
• been
• beest
• being
• was
• wast
• were
• wert

Etymology 2

Alternative pronunciation of us.

Pronoun

is

1. (Geordie) Alternative spelling of us (“me”).

Etymology 3

From i +‎ -s.

Noun

is

1. (rare) Alternative form of i's.

Anagrams

• s͞i, Si., S. I., SI, S.I., si, Si

Afar

Etymology 1

Related to Sidamo ise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈis/ [ˈʔɪs]

Pronoun

ís

1. she

See also

Afar personal pronouns

		1st person	2nd person	3rd person m	3rd person f
Subject	Singular	anú	atú	úsuk	ís
	Plural	nanú	isín	úsun
Object	Singular	yó	kó	ká	tét
	Plural	né	sín	kén

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈis/ [ˈʔɪs]

Pronoun

ís

1. thyself, yourself
2. himself, herself
3. (Awash) myself

See also

Afar reflexive pronouns

		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Simple	Singular	ínni	ís
	Plural	nínni	isínni, sínni
Emphatic	Singular	ínnih	ísih
	Plural	nínnih	isínnih, sínnih

References

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “is”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əs/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

is

1. am, are, is (present tense, all persons, plural and singular of wees, to be)
2. Forms the perfect passive voice when followed by a past participle

Bagusa

Noun

is

1. woman

References

• Mark Donohue, Syntactic and Lexical Factors Conditioning the Diffusion of Sound Change, Oceanic Linguistics 44 (2005), page 428

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• isch (South Bavarian, Tyrolean, South Tyrolean)

Etymology

From Middle High German ist, from Old High German ist, from Proto-West Germanic *ist, from Proto-Germanic *isti.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/, /iːs/

Verb

is

1. third-person singular present indicative of sei

Catalan

Noun

is

1. plural of i

Cimbrian

Pronoun

is

1. (Sette Comuni) Alternative form of es (“it”)

References

• “is” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈiːˀs/, [ˈiˀs]
• Rhymes: -iːs
• Rhymes: -iːˀs

Noun

is c (singular definite isen, plural indefinite is)

1. (uncountable) ice (water in frozen form)
2. (uncountable) ice, ice cream (dessert, not necessarily containing cream)
3. (countable) ice, ice cream (ice dessert on a stick or in a wafer cone)

Inflection

Declension of is

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	is	isen	is	isene
genitive	is'	isens	is'	isenes

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

is

1. third-person singular present indicative of zijn; is, equals

   Twaalf min drie is negen — twelve minus three equals nine

Adverb

is

1. (informal, dialect) Misspelling of 's.

Anagrams

• si

German

Verb

is

1. Alternative form of is'

Gothic

Romanization

is

1. Romanization of 𐌹𐍃

Hungarian

Etymology

Doublet of és (“and”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈiʃ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iʃ

Adverb

is (not comparable) (clitic)

1. also, too, as well

   Synonyms: szintén, ugyancsak, úgyszintén, éppúgy, (formal; the others are relatively literary in style) szintúgy

   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).

2. even, up to, as much as, as long as

   Három óráig is tarthat a műtét ― The operation may even take three hours.

3. (after an interrogative word) again (used in a question to ask something one has forgotten)

   Hogy is hívják? ― What's that called, again?

4. sure enough, indeed

   Synonyms: tényleg, valóban, csakugyan

   Aznapra esőt mondtak, és el is kezdett esni. ― Rain had been predicted for that day and, sure enough, it was beginning to rain. (literally, “They had said rain for…”)

Usage notes

When it is used with a concessive adverb (“no matter what/​who​/​when/how”, “however [good, bad]”, “long as it was”, “even if…” etc.), it is traditionally placed after the verb, though it is common in colloquial style to use it after the adverb instead:

(traditionally, chiefly in literary style) Bármilyen hosszúra nyúlt is az előadás,…
(more recently) Bármilyen hosszúra is nyúlt az előadás,…

No matter how long the lecture​/​performance stretched,…

It applies to verb-final set phrases as well, similarly to érzi magát in this clause: még ha ettől rosszul érezzük is magunkat / …rosszul is érezzük magunkat (“even if it makes us feel bad”).

Derived terms

Compound words

• csakis
• igenis
• legalábbis
• máris
• mégis
• ugyanis
• úgyis

 

Expressions

• a falnak is füle van
• a jég hátán is megél
• a kákán is csomót keres
• akit a kígyó megmart, a gyíktól is fél
• bármi történjék is
• ha nincs ló, jó a szamár is
• jóból is megárt a sok
• segíts magadon, s az Isten is megsegít
• sok jó ember kis helyen is elfér
• száz szónak is egy a vége
• vak tyúk is talál szemet

 

See also

• egyaránt (“equally, alike”)

Further reading

• is in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Irish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Irish os.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪsˠ/, /sˠ/

Conjunction

is

1. reduced form of agus (“and; as”)

   Dia is Muire duit.

   Hello to you, too. (lit. God and Mary to you.)

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 1:

     wil nə fatī xō mŭȧ, s dūŕc šē?

     [An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé?]

     Are the potatoes as good as he said?

   • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 1:

     ə ʒēĺǵə, l̄aurīr ə gūǵə mūn, ńī h-ønn̥̄ ī s ə ʒēlgə š agń̥ə

     [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

1. 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)

2. 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 cá cár, cárbv cár, cárbhv cé cér, cérbv cér, cérbhv dá dá mba, dá mb’v de/do dar, darbv dar, darbhv faoi faoinar, faoinarbv faoinar, faoinarbhv i inar, inarbv inar, inarbhv le lenar, lenarbv lenar, lenarbhv má más má ba, má b’v mura mura, murabv murar, murarbhv ó (prep.) ónar, ónarbv ónar, ónarbhv ó (conj.) ós ó ba, ó b’v trí trínar, trínarbv trínar, trínarbhv
v Used before vowel sounds

Karakalpak

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *īĺč.

Noun

is

1. work

See also

• jumıs

References

• N. A. Baskakov, editor (1958), “ис”, in Karakalpaksko-Russkij Slovarʹ [Karakalpak-Russian Dictionary], Moscow: Akademija Nauk Uzbekskoj SSR, →ISBN

Kwerba

Noun

is

1. woman

References

• Mark Donohue, Syntactic and Lexical Factors Conditioning the Diffusion of Sound Change, Oceanic Linguistics 44 (2005), page 428 (used in both Kwerba proper and Anggreso Kwerba)

Lacandon

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *iihs.

Noun

is

1. sweet potato

Derived terms

• chʌk taꞌan is
• kꞌʌn tsꞌuꞌ is
• sʌk is

 

References

• Baer, Phillip, Baer, Mary, Chan Kꞌin, Manuel, Chan Kꞌin, Antonio (2018) Diccionaro maya lacandón (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 51)‎^[3] (in Spanish), Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 65–66

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Oscan 𐌉𐌆𐌉𐌊 (izik), Umbrian 𐌄𐌓𐌄 (ere), and further with Lithuanian jis, Proto-Slavic *jь.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /is/, [ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /is/, [is]

Pronoun

is (feminine ea, neuter id); demonstrative pronoun

1. (pronoun) this or that man, woman or thing; he, she, it, they (previously introduced)
   1. Picks up the subject or object after an intervening clause, to avoid repeating the relative pronoun quī, or substitutes syntactically fronted expressions
2. (correlative) that...which; he, she...who, it...that
   1. (anaphoric) of such a nature, degree, kind (previously mentioned or implied)
   2. (cataphoric) the following; of the following nature, degree, kind
3. (determiner) this or that [man, woman or thing] (as a noun phrase modifier)
4. (with genus with nominative or modī with genitive) such a, that sort of

   eiusmodī sermōnēs ― talk of that kind

   • Marcus Valerius Probus, Fragmenta 66.29:

     […] 'urbīs' an 'urbēs'. Nam cum id genus sīs, quod videō, ut sine iactūrā tuā peccēs, nihil perdēs utrum dīxeris.

     […] 'urbīs' or 'urbēs'. For as far as I can see, you're the kind of man who doesn't lose sleep over his mistakes; as such you'll lose nothing whichever one you use.

5. Substituting a clause.

   quod eius fierī possit ― as far as [any of that is] possible

   1. As an internal accusative: for that reason, on that account

      idque gaudeō ― and I'm glad about that

   2. Used in various prepositional phrases.

Usage notes

Latin is is an endophoric pronoun and determiner, which may be employed either as an anaphora or as a cataphora, meaning it serves as a reference to something preceding or following, respectively, in the text. Unlike a demonstrative such as ille or English this, is does not have a deictic function, meaning it cannot point to a referent in the world, but only one named in the text; nor can it be used exophorically as a 3d-person pronoun such as English (s)he that refers to something not already defined in the context but presumed to be known or deduceable by the addressee. Thus we see it used with first, second and third person.

The exophoric demonstratives/determiners in Latin are hic (proximal, near the speaker), iste (medial, near the listener), and ille (distal, far from both). Note that Latin doesn't have any 3rd-person pronouns, using the aforementioned demonstratives in their place.

Oblique cases are rare in elevated poetry.

Declension

Demonstrative pronoun.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	is	ea	id		eī1 iī ī	eae	ea
genitive	eius ejus				eōrum eum	eārum	eōrum eum
dative	eī2 e͡i ēī	eī2 e͡i ēī eae	eī2 e͡i ēī		eīs1 iīs īs	eīs1 iīs īs eābus	eīs1 iīs īs
accusative	eum	eam	id		eōs	eās	ea
ablative	eō	eā	eō		eīs1 iīs īs

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, appears 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

• idcircō
• īdem
• ideō

See also

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

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	ēius	eī	eum	eō	ēius
		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

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /iːs/, [iːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /is/, [is]

Verb

īs

1. second-person singular present active indicative of eō

References

• is in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Middle Dutch

Verb

is

1. third-person singular present indicative of wēsen

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic *īs.

Alternative forms

• ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/

Noun

is (uncountable)

2. ice (frozen water):
   1. A layer of frozen water as a surface.
   2. (rare) An individual portion of ice.
3. (rare, figurative) That which is short-lived like ice.
4. (rare) icy conditions

Derived terms

• isykle
• Iseland

Descendants

• English: ice (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: ice

References

• “īs, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-15.

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

• es, ys, us

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/, /iz/

Verb

is

2. third-person singular present indicative of been

   Synonym: bith

Usage notes

This form is more common than bith for the third-person singular.

Descendants

• English: is
• Scots: is
• Yola: is, ez

Etymology 3

Determiner

is

1. Alternative form of his (“his”)

Pronoun

is

1. Alternative form of his (“his”)

Etymology 4

Pronoun

is

1. Alternative form of his (“her”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

is

1. Alternative form of his (“them”)

Etymology 6

Noun

is (plural isnes)

1. Alternative form of iren (“iron”)

Navajo

Interjection

is

1. 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

• as
• isdaʼ

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse íss (“ice”), from Proto-Germanic *īsaz, a variant of *īsą (“ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”).

Noun

is m (definite singular isen, indefinite plural is or iser, definite plural isene)

1. (uncountable) ice, ice cream
2. (countable) ice cream on a stick or cone.

Synonyms

• iskrem (ice cream)

Derived terms

• isbit
• isbjørn
• isbre
• isbryter
• isfjell
• isflak
• isfri
• ishall
• ishockey
• iskaffe
• iskald
• iskappe
• islagt
• istapp
• iste
• isterning
• istid
• Nordishavet
• pakkis
• sjøis
• Sørishavet
• vaniljeis

 

References

• “is” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Anagrams

• -is, si

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-. Akin to English ice.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/

Noun

is m (definite singular isen, indefinite plural isar, definite plural isane)

1. ice
2. ice cream

Synonyms

• iskrem (ice cream)

Derived terms

• drivis
• isbit
• isbjørn
• isbre
• isfjell
• isflak
• isfri
• ishall
• ishockey
• iskald
• iskappe
• istapp
• iste
• isterning
• istid
• Nordishavet
• sjøis
• Sørishavet
• vaniljeis

 

References

• “is” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Nyishi

Alternative forms

• isi, esi

Etymology

From Proto-Tani *si, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *si.

Noun

is

1. water

References

• P. T. Abraham (2005) A Grammar of Nyishi Language‎^[4], Delhi: Farsight Publishers and Distributors

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *īsą. See there for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/

Noun

īs n

1. ice
   • the Legend of St Andrew

     Ofer ēastrēamas īs bryċġode.

     The ice formed a bridge over the streams.

2. the runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)
   • The Old English rune poem

     ᛁ byþ oferċeald, unġemeted slidor...

     Ice is very cold and immeasurably slippery...

Declension

Declension of īs (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	īs	īs
accusative	īs	īs
genitive	īses	īsa
dative	īse	īsum

Derived terms

• īsċeald
• īsiġ
• īsearn

Descendants

• Middle English: is, ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
  • English: ice (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: ice

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *ist, from Proto-Germanic *isti (a form of Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“is”).

Alternative forms

• ys
• ᛁᛋ (is) — Near Fakenham plaque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/

Verb

is

1. third-person singular present indicative of wesan

Descendants

• Middle English: is
  • English: is
  • Scots: is
  • Yola: is, ez

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *īs. Compare Old Saxon īs, Old English īs, Old Norse íss.

Noun

īs

1. ice

Descendants

• Middle High German: īs
  • Alemannic German: Iis, Is, Isch

    Alsatian: Iis; Eis (northern)

    Italian Walser: isch, éisch

  • Bavarian: ais

    Cimbrian: ais

    Mòcheno: ais

  • Central Franconian: Eis, Ies

    Hunsrik: Eis

    Luxembourgish: Äis

    Transylvanian Saxon: Ais

  • German: Eis
  • Rhine Franconian:

    Frankfurt: [ais]

    Pennsylvania German: Eis

  • Vilamovian: ajs
  • Yiddish: אײַז (ayz)

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• iss

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

1. to be

For quotations using this term, see Citations:is.

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 Appendix:Old Irish conjugation of is for the complete conjugation.

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

See also

• at·tá (substantive verb)

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 is”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, §§ 791–818, pages 483–94; reprinted 2017
• Pedersen, Holger (1913) Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen (in German), volume II, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, →ISBN, pages 419–431

Old Saxon

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *it.

Pronoun

is (is)

1. 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, unka	inker, inka	-	-	-
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

1. 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).

Noun

īs n

1. ice
2. The runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)

Declension

Declension of īs (neuter a-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	īs	īs
accusative	īs	īs
genitive	īses	īsō
dative	īse	īsun
instrumental	—	—

Descendants

• Middle Low German: îs
  • Low German:
    • German Low German: Ies
      • Plautdietsch: Iess

Old Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *esti. Cognate to Old Irish is.

Verb

is (third person singular present)

1. to be

Inflection

Listed exhaustively in the Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh are the following conjugated forms:

• 3rd person singular present: is, iu, oi, hois, hoys
• 3rd person singular present relative: issi, issid
• 3rd person singular present negative: nit
• 3rd person plural present: hint, int
• 3rd person singular imperfect: hoid, oid
• 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive: be
• 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive: beinn
• 3rd person singular present habitual: bi, bid bit
• 3rd person singular present subjunctive: boi, boit
• 3rd person singular preterite: bu

Descendants

• Welsh: bod (finite forms)

Onondaga

Etymology

From Proto-North Iroquoian *iːts.

Pronoun

is

1. you

References

• Hanni Woodbury (2018) A Reference Grammar of the Onondaga Language, University of Toronto, page 309

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈis/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈis/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈiʃ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈiʃ/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -is, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -iʃ
• Hyphenation: is

Noun

is

1. plural of i
   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia 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!

Sardinian

Etymology

From syllabic apocope of issos, issas, from Latin ipsōs, ipsās, masculine and feminine accusative plural forms of ipse (“himself”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/

Article

is m pl or f pl (Campidanese)

1. plural of su: the (masculine plural definite article)
2. plural of sa: the (feminine plural definite article)

See also

• sas
• sos

 

References

• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes
• Wagner, Max Leopold (1960–1964) “ísse”, in Dizionario etimologico sardo, Heidelberg

Scots

Adverb

is (not comparable)

1. (Southern Scots) as

Synonyms

• es

Conjunction

is

1. (Southern Scots) as

Synonyms

• es

Pronoun

is (personal, non-emphatic)

1. (Southern Scots) me

See also

• A
• mei (emphatic variant)

Verb

is

1. third-person singular simple present indicative form of be

See also

• ir

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪs̪/
• IPA^(key): /ɪʃ/ (before a front vowel sound)
• Hyphenation: is

Etymology 1

Clipping of agus (“as well as”). Cognate with Irish is.

Conjunction

is

1. and

Usage notes

• Is is often shortened further to 's.

Etymology 2

From Old Irish is. Cognate with Irish is and Manx s'.

Verb

is

1. (copulative) am, is, are

Usage notes

• Is is often shortened to 's.
• 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 anns an t-seòmar. ― I am in the room.

Inflection

Conjugation of bi (highly irregular)

			singular			plural
			first	second	third m/f	first	second	third
independent	present		tha mi	tha thu	tha e/i	tha sinn	tha sibh	tha iad
	past		bha mi	bha thu	bha e/i	bha sinn	bha sibh	bha iad
	future	simple	bidh mi	bidh tu	bidh e/i	bidh sinn	bidh sibh	bidh iad
		emphatic	bithidh mi	bithidh tu	bithidh e/i	bithidh sinn	bithidh sibh	bithidh iad
	conditional	simple	bhithinn	bhiodh tu	bhiodh e/i	bhiodh sinn bhiomaid	bhiodh sibh	bhiodh iad
		emphatic		bhitheadh tu	bhitheadh e/i	bhitheadh sinn bhitheamaid	bhitheadh sibh	bhitheadh iad
negative	present		chan eil mi	chan eil thu	chan eil e/i	chan eil sinn	chan eil sibh	chan eil iad
	past		cha robh mi	cha robh thu	cha robh e/i	cha robh sinn	cha robh sibh	cha robh iad
	future		cha bhi mi	cha bhi thu	cha bhi e/i	cha bhi sinn	cha bhi sibh	cha bhi iad
	conditional	simple	cha bhithinn	cha bhiodh tu	cha bhiodh e/i	cha bhiodh sinn cha bhiomaid	cha bhiodh sibh	cha bhiodh iad
		emphatic		cha bhitheadh tu	cha bhitheadh e/i	cha bhitheadh sinn cha bhitheamaid	cha bhitheadh sibh	cha bhitheadh iad
affirmative interrogative	present		a bheil mi?	a bheil thu?	a bheil e/i?	a bheil sinn?	a bheil sibh?	a bheil iad?
	past		an robh mi?	an robh thu?	an robh e/i?	an robh sinn?	an robh sibh?	an robh iad?
	future		am bi mi?	am bi thu?	am bi e/i?	am bi sinn?	am bi sibh?	am bi iad?
	conditional	simple	am bithinn?	am biodh tu?	am biodh e/i?	am biodh sinn? am biomaid?	am biodh sibh?	am biodh iad?
		emphatic		am bitheadh tu?	am bitheadh e/i?	am bitheadh sinn am bitheamaid?	am bitheadh sibh?	am bitheadh iad?
negative interrogative	present		nach eil mi?	nach eil thu?	nach eil e/i?	nach eil sinn?	nach eil sibh?	nach eil iad?
	past		nach robh mi?	nach robh thu?	nach robh e/i?	nach robh sinn?	nach robh sibh?	nach robh iad?
	future		nach bi mi?	nach bi thu?	nach bi e/i?	nach bi sinn?	nach bi sibh?	nach bi iad?
	conditional	simple	nach bithinn?	nach biodh tu?	nach biodh e/i?	nach biodh sinn? nach biomaid?	nach biodh sibh?	nach biodh iad?
		emphatic		nach bitheadh tu?	nach bitheadh e/i?	nach bitheadh sinn? nach bitheamaid?	nach bitheadh sibh?	nach bitheadh iad?
relative future		simple	(a) bhios mi	(a) bhios tu	(a) bhios e/i	(a) bhios sinn	(a) bhios sibh	(a) bhios iad
		emphatic	(a) bhitheas mi	(a) bhitheas tu	(a) bhitheas e/i	(a) bhitheas sinn	(a) bhitheas sibh	(a) bhitheas iad
imperative		simple	bitheam	bi	biodh e/i	biomaid	bithibh	biodh iad
		emphatic			bitheadh e/i	bitheamaid		bitheadh iad
verbal noun			a bhith

Impersonal forms can be found at thathar.

Conjugation of is (highly irregular, defective)

		singular			plural
		first	second	third m/f	first	second	third
independent	present	is mi	is tu	is e/i	is sinn	is sibh	is iad
	past	bu mhi	bu tu	b' e/i	bu sinn	bu sibh	b' iad
	conditional
negative	present	cha mhi	cha tu	chan e/i	cha sinn	cha sibh	chan iad
	past	cha bu mhi	cha bu tu	cha b' e/i	cha bu sinn	cha bu sibh	cha b' iad
	conditional
affirmative interrogative	present	am mi?	an tu?	an e/i?	an sinn?	an sibh?	an iad?
	past	am bu mhi?	am bu tu?	am b' e/i?	am bu sinn?	am bu sibh?	am b' iad?
	conditional
Negative interrogative	present	nach mi?	nach tu?	nach e/i?	nach sinn?	nach sibh?	nach iad?
	past	nach bu mhi?	nach bu tu?	nach b' e/i?	nach bu sinn?	nach bu sibh?	nach b' iad?
	conditional

Conjugation of thathar (highly irregular, defective, impersonal)

	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
Independent	thathar, thatar, thathas1	bhathar, bhatar, bhathas1	bithear, bitear, bitheas1	bhite(adh), bhithist(e)1
Negative	chan eilear, chan eileas1	cha robhar, cha robhas1	cha bithear, cha bitear, cha bitheas1	cha bhite(adh), cha bhithist(e)1
Affirmative interrogative	am beilear? am beileas?1 a bheilear? a bheileas?1	an robhar? an robhas?1	am bithear? am biteas?1	am bite(adh)? am bithist(e)?1
Negative interrogative	nach eilear? nach eileas?1	nach robhar? nach robhas?1	nach bithear? nach bitear? nach bitheas?1	nach bite(adh)? nach bithist(e)?1

¹ Lewis dialect form

References

• Colin Mark (2003) “is”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 368

Swedish

grässtrån infrusna i is [blades of grass frozen in ice]

Etymology

From Old Swedish is, from Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/, [iːs̪]

• Audio (Gotland):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːs

Noun

is c

1. (uncountable) ice (frozen water)
   • 1982, Ratata (lyrics and music), “Ögon av is [Eyes of ice]”, in Ratata‎^[5]:

     Ja, hennes ögon är av is. Dom säger allt och ingenting. Ja, hon har ögon av is.

     Yes, her eyes are made of ice. They say everything and nothing. Yes, she has eyes of ice.

2. (countable) ice (mass of ice, for example a sheet)

Declension

Declension of is

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	is	is
	definite	isen	isens
plural	indefinite	isar	isars
	definite	isarna	isarnas

Related terms

• isa
• isas
• isbacke
• isbalett
• isbana
• isbark
• isbelagd
• isbeläggning
• isberg
• isbildning
• isbill
• isbit
• isbjörn
• isblock
• isblomma
• isblå
• isblåsa
• isborr
• isbrytande
• isbrytare
• isbrytning
• isbränna
• isbunden
• isbälte
• ischoklad
• isdans
• isdubb
• isdygn
• isdämd
• isdös
• isfiske
• isflak
• isfläck
• isfri
• isfågel
• isfält
• isförhållanden
• isgata
• isglass
• isgrå
• ishalka
• ishall
• ishav
• ishinder
• ishink
• ishinna
• ishockey
• isig
• isigt
• isjakt
• iskaffe
• iskall
• iskana
• iskant
• iskarl
• iskarvning
• isklump
• iskonvalj
• iskorn
• iskravning
• iskristall
• iskub
• iskyla
• iskyld
• Island
• islom
• islossning
• islår
• isläge
• islägga
• ismaskin
• ismassa
• isning
• isnot
• ispansar
• ispik
• isprinsessa
• ispropp
• isracing
• isrand
• isranunkel
• israpport
• isränna
• issituation
• issjö
• isskorpa
• isskrapa
• isskruvning
• isskulptur
• isskåp
• issmältning
• isstack
• isstadion
• isstycke
• issvårigheter
• issyra
• issåg
• issågning
• issörja
• istapp
• iste
• istid
• isträning
• istäcke
• istäckt
• istärning
• isvak
• isvatten
• isvinter
• isvit
• isvägg
• isyxa
• isälv
• isöken
• nyis
• packis
• på hal is
• tunn is

 

References

• is in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• is in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• is in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• is in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English East.

Noun

is

1. East

Turkish

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *ï̄ĺ(č) (“soot, dirty smoke”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈis/

Noun

is (definite accusative isi, plural isler)

1. soot
2. fume (solid deposit)
3. kohl

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	is
Definite accusative	isi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	is	isler
Definite accusative	isi	isleri
Dative	ise	islere
Locative	iste	islerde
Ablative	isten	islerden
Genitive	isin	islerin
Possessive forms Nominative Singular Plural 1st singular isim islerim 2nd singular isin islerin 3rd singular isi isleri 1st plural isimiz islerimiz 2nd plural isiniz isleriniz 3rd plural isleri isleri Definite accusative Singular Plural 1st singular isimi islerimi 2nd singular isini islerini 3rd singular isini islerini 1st plural isimizi islerimizi 2nd plural isinizi islerinizi 3rd plural islerini islerini Dative Singular Plural 1st singular isime islerime 2nd singular isine islerine 3rd singular isine islerine 1st plural isimize islerimize 2nd plural isinize islerinize 3rd plural islerine islerine Locative Singular Plural 1st singular isimde islerimde 2nd singular isinde islerinde 3rd singular isinde islerinde 1st plural isimizde islerimizde 2nd plural isinizde islerinizde 3rd plural islerinde islerinde Ablative Singular Plural 1st singular isimden islerimden 2nd singular isinden islerinden 3rd singular isinden islerinden 1st plural isimizden islerimizden 2nd plural isinizden islerinizden 3rd plural islerinden islerinden Genitive Singular Plural 1st singular isimin islerimin 2nd singular isinin islerinin 3rd singular isinin islerinin 1st plural isimizin islerimizin 2nd plural isinizin islerinizin 3rd plural islerinin islerinin

Derived terms

• islemek

Volapük

Adverb

is

1. here
   • 1931, Arie de Jong, Gramat Volapüka, § 256:

     Ünü tim kinik janedoy-li is?

     At what time does one have breakfast here?

Welsh

Alternative forms

• îs (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle Welsh is, from Proto-Celtic *ɸīssu (“under”), from Proto-Indo-European *pedsú, locative plural of *pṓds (“foot”). Cognate with Old Irish ís.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/
  • (South Wales, colloquial also) IPA^(key): /iːʃ/

Adjective

is

1. comparative degree of isel: lower

   Antonym: uwch

Preposition

is

1. lower than, under

Related terms

• is- (“sub-”)
• (literary): islaw (“beneath”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of is

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
is	unchanged	unchanged	his

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian is, from Proto-Germanic *isti (form of *wesaną (“to be”)). Cognate with English is, Dutch is.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪs/

Verb

is

1. third person singular indicative of wêze
   • 1997, Sjoerd Bottema, "Dwersreed", Trotwaer, vol. 29, no. 5, page 204.

     Ik soe net witte wat myn ‘favorite plakje’ is om te fantasearjen, sa'n plak ha ik net, no ja soms al, mar dat is in plak dêr't ik yn it iepenbier leaver net oer praat, net mei myn learlingen alteast, en al hielendal net oer hoe't ik my dêr hâld en draach en wat myn lichemshâlding is.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Yola

Alternative forms

• ez

Etymology

From Middle English is, es, from Old English is.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪz/, /ɛz/

Verb

is

1. is

   Synonym: beeth

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 44:

     Doost thou know fidi is a hamaron?

     Do you know where is the horse-collar?

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 65:

     Mee coat is ee-runt.

     My coat is torn.

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 71:

     A truckle is ee-teap'd.

     The car is overturned.

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 78:

     A wuf is pa varreen.

     The gad is on the headland.

2. are

   Synonym: yarth

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 49:

     Banès is ee-kearnt.

     Beans are beginning to ripen in the pod.

   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 50:

     Mee hoanès is ee-kimmelt.

     My hands are benumbed with cold.

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 44