can anyone explain where the word "if" was origanated from?

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can anyone explain where the word "if" was origanated from?

2007-08-24 19:50:32 · 2 answers · asked by cookiesmom 7 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay

2 answers

Online Etymology Dictionary

if
Old.English. gif pronounced "yif", probably originally from an oblique case of a noun meaning "doubt" (cf. O.H.G. iba, O.N. if "doubt").
Iffy is first attested 1937 in Amer.Eng.; originally associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

2007-08-24 19:56:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋

Origin: before 900; Middle English: var. of yif, Old English: gif, gef; akin to Old Norse: ef - if, Goth: ibai - whether, Old High German: iba - condition, stipulation.

2007-08-25 03:05:29 · answer #2 · answered by Jeff S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋