be
To exist; to occupy a state or position.
Etymology
From Old English bēon (from PIE *bʰuH- "to become, to grow") merged with eom/is (from PIE *h₁es- "to be, to exist"). English "be" is a suppletive verb combining three different PIE roots: *bʰuH- (be, been), *h₁es- (am, is, are), and *wes- (was, were). This gives us "essence," "present," "absent," "interest," "entity," "future" (from *bʰuH-), and "soothe" (originally "truth" — what IS).
The Journey: *h₁es- → be
*h₁es- / *bʰuH-
*beuną / *wesaną
bēon / wesan
been
be
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₁es-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | eînai (esti) |
| Latin | esse (sum, est) |
| Hittite | ēš- |
| Armenian | em |
| Sanskrit | ásmi, ásti |
| Lithuanian | esti |
| Old Church Slavonic | jestŭ |
Did You Know?
English "to be" is assembled from THREE different PIE verbs: *h₁es- gives us am/is/are, *wes- gives us was/were, and *bʰuH- gives us be/being/been. No single PIE root survived to cover all forms. This is why "be" is the most irregular verb in English — it's actually three verbs wearing a trenchcoat.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.