yew
An evergreen coniferous tree of the genus Taxus, often associated with churchyards.
Etymology
Modern English yew comes from Old English ēow or īw, from Proto-Germanic *īwaz, from PIE *h₂ey-w- (possibly related to *h₂ey- "vital force, age, lifetime"), reflecting the tree's extraordinary longevity. The yew's association with eternity and the otherworld is ancient across Indo-European cultures. Old Irish ēo "yew," Welsh yw, and Gaulish ivos are Celtic cognates. Lithuanian ievà "bird cherry" shows the root applied to different trees in different regions. The yew was sacred to pre-Christian Germanic and Celtic peoples, which is why so many yews grow in English churchyards — the churches were built on existing sacred sites. Within English, the place name York may derive from an old Celtic word for yew (Eburacon "place of yew trees"). The yew's toxic alkaloids and its use for longbows made it both feared and prized throughout medieval Europe.
The Journey: *h₂ey-w- → yew
*h₂ey-w-
*īwaz
ēow / īw
ew, yew
yew
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₂ey-w-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Old Irish | ēo | yew |
| Welsh | yw | yew |
| Old Norse | ýr | yew |
| Lithuanian | ievà | bird cherry |
| Gaulish | ivos | yew |
Did You Know?
English yew trees in churchyards are often far older than the churches themselves — some over 2,000 years old. The churches were deliberately built at existing sacred yew sites. The Fortingall Yew in Scotland may be 3,000–5,000 years old, potentially making it the oldest living thing in Europe and older than the PIE language itself.