is

See also: Appendix:Variations of "is"

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 is (“is”). The paradigm of "to be" has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of four originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form "to be" is from *bʰuH- (“to become”). The forms is and am are derived from *h₁es- (“to be”) whereas the form are comes from *iraną (“to rise, be quick, become active”). Lastly, the past forms starting with "w-" such as was and were are from *h₂wes- (“to dwell; reside”).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪz

Verb

is

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

   He is a doctor. He retired some time ago.

   Should he do the task, it is vital that you follow him.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     It is a big book. — Yes. Yes it is, Pete.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

Alternative forms

• ees
• 's
• iz

Derived terms

• as-is

Quotations

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:is.

Synonyms

• bes (AAVE)

Translations

third-person singular of "be"

• Albanian: është (sq)
• Arabic: zero copula in most cases; possible addition of هُوَ‎ (ar) m (huwa) or هِيَ‎ (ar) f (hiya); يَكُونَ‎ m (yakūna) or تَكُونَ‎ f (takūna) in subordinate clauses functioning as verbal complements
• Armenian: է (hy) (ē), կա (hy) (ka)
• Asturian: ye (ast), ta (ast)
• Avestan: 𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬌‎ (asti)
• Belarusian: (limited usage) ёсць (joscʹ)
• Breton: eo (br)
• Bulgarian: е (e)
• Burmese: ရှိ (my) (hri.), ဖြစ် (my) (hprac), နေ (my) (ne), ဟုတ် (my) (hut) (in negative clauses)
• Catalan: és (ca), està (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 是 (zh) (shì) (not used with adjectives)

• Cornish:

  Kernewek Kemmyn: yw where an adjective or noun is the complement; yma in a positive statement, where a prepositional or verbal clause is the complement; usi in a negative or interrogative sentence, where a prepositional or verbal clause is the complement of a definite subject; eus in a negative or interrogative sentence, where a prepositional or verbal clause is the complement of an indefinite subject

• Czech: je (cs)
• Danish: er (da)
• Dutch: is (nl)
• Esperanto: estas (eo)
• Estonian: on (et)
• Faroese: er
• Finnish: on (fi)
• French: est (fr)
• Galician: é (gl), está
• Georgian: არის (aris)
• German: ist (de)
• Gothic: 𐌹𐍃𐍄 (ist)
• Greek: είναι (el) (eínai)
• Gujarati: please add this translation if you can
• Hindi: है (hi) (hai)
• Hittite: [script needed] (ēšzi)
• Hungarian: van (hu) (not used except as 'to exist')
• Icelandic: er (is)
• Ido: esas (io)
• Igbo: bụ
• Interlingua: es
• Irish: tá
• Italian: è (it), sta (it)
• Japanese: です (ja) (desu) (polite), だ (ja) (da) (informal), や (ja) (ya) (dialectal), じゃ (ja) (ja) (dialectal), である (ja) (de aru) (literary), でございます (de gozaimasu) (formal)
• Kannada: ಇದೆ (kn) (ide)
• Karakhanid: اُلْ‎ (ol)
• Khmer: ជា (km) (jīa), គឺ (km) (geu)
• Korean: 이다 (ko) (ida) (copula), 있다 (ko) (itda) (to exist)
• Latgalian: irā
• Latin: est (la)
• Latvian: ir
• Lithuanian: yra (lt)

• Macedonian: е (mk) (e)
• Malay: ialah (ms), adalah (ms)
• Malayalam: ആകുന്നു (ākunnu)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Marathi: आहे (āhe)
• Mongolian: байх (mn) (bajh)
• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: er (no)
• Novial: es
• O'odham: ʼo
• Old Church Slavonic: єстъ (estŭ)
• Old English: is
• Old High German: ist
• Old Norse: er, es
• Old Persian: asti
• Oriya: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: است‎ (fa) (ast)
• Polish: jest (pl)
• Portuguese: é (pt), está (pt)
• Romanian: este (ro), e (ro)
• Russian: есть (ru) (jestʹ) (has a very limited usage)
• Sanskrit: अस्ति (sa) (asti)
• Scots: is
• Scottish Gaelic: tha
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: је, јест, јесте

  Roman: je (sh), jest (sh), jeste (sh)

• Slovak: je (sk), jestvuje (to exist)
• Slovene: je (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: jo

• Spanish: es (es), está (es), hay (es) (in existential sentences, when the subject is indefinite, verb-noun inversion also necessary)
• Swahili: ni
• Swedish: är (sv)
• Tagalog: ay (tl)
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: เป็น (th) (bpen) (not used with adjectives), อยู่ (th) (yùu), คือ (th) (kʉʉ)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: var (tr)
• Ukrainian: є (uk) (je) (has a very limited usage)
• Urdu: ہے‎ (hai)
• Vietnamese: là (vi) (when followed by a predicate nominative); thì (vi) (but often not translated when followed by a predicate adjective); tồn tại (vi), hiện có (to exist)
• Võro: om
• Welsh: mae (cy), yw (cy) (descriptive), ydy (descriptive), oes (cy) (existential with indefinite), sydd (relative, emphatic)
• West Frisian: is (fy)
• Yiddish: איז‎ (iz)

See also

See also

• am
• are
• art
• be

• been
• beest
• being
• was

• wast
• were
• wert

Etymology 2

i +‎ -s.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /aɪz/
• Rhymes: -aɪz

Noun

is

1. plural of i

   remember to dot your is

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

• S. I., S.I., SI, Si, Si., si

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Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əs/

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

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Bagusa

Noun

is

1. woman

References

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

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Catalan

Noun

is

1. plural of i

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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

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Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/
• 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

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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, dialectal) Misspelling of 's.

Anagrams

• si

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Gothic

Romanization

is

1. Romanization of 𐌹𐍃

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Hungarian

Etymology

Doublet of és (“and”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈiʃ]

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

is (not comparable)

1. also, too, as well

   Én is szeretem a csokit.

   I also like chocolate. (Besides other people)

   A csokit is szeretem.

   I also like chocolate. (Besides other things)

2. even

   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?

Synonyms

• szintén

Derived terms

(Compound words):

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

(Expressions):

• a falnak is füle van
• segíts magadon, s az Isten is megsegít
• sok jó ember kis helyen is elfér
• száz szónak is egy a vége

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Irish

Etymology 1

From agus.

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 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

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 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

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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)

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Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /is/, [ɪs]

Pronoun

is

1. (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

Irregular: similar to first and second declensions, except for genitive singular ending in -ius and dative singular ending in -ī.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	is	ea	id		eī, iī	eae	ea
Genitive	eius, ejus	eius, ejus	eius, ejus		eōrum	eārum	eōrum
Dative	eī	eī	eī		eīs, iīs	eīs, iīs	eīs, iīs
Accusative	eum	eam	id		eōs	eās	ea
Ablative	eō	eā	eō		eīs, iīs	eīs, iīs	eīs, iīs

Related terms

• enim
• ibī
• idcircō
• īdem
• ideō

• igitur
• ipse
• ita
• item
• iterum

See also

Latin personal 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

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /iːs/

Verb

īs

1. second-person singular present active indicative of eo

References

• is in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • 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 (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎^[2]
• is in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• is in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

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Middle Dutch

Verb

is

1. third-person singular present indicative of wēsen

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Middle English

Etymology 1

Determiner

is

1. Alternative form of his

Pronoun

is

1. Alternative form of his

References

• “his, (pron.1)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 8 May 2018.
• “his, (pron.2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 May 2018.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

is

1. Alternative form of heo

References

• “hir(e), pron (2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 June 2018.

Etymology 3

From Old English īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą; from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyHsom, derivative of *h₁eyH-.

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.
      • [c. 1599–1602, William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: Printed [by Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, OCLC 84758312, [Act III, scene i]:

        If thou doſt marry, Ile giue thee / This plague to thy dowry: / Be thou as chaſte as yce, as pure as ſnowe, / Thou ſhalt not ſcape calumny, to a Nunnery goe.]

   2. (rare) A individual portion of ice.
3. (rare, figuratively) That which is short-lived like ice.
4. (rare) icy conditions

Derived terms

• isykle
• Iseland

Descendants

• English: ice
• Scots: ice

References

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

Etymology 4

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/

Verb

is

2. Third-person singular present indicative form of been

Descendants

• English: is, 's
• Scots: is

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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

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. (uncountable) ice
2. (countable) ice cream

Synonyms

• iskrem (ice cream)

Derived terms

Terms derived from is

• isbit
• isbjørn
• isbre
• isbryter
• isfjell
• isflak
• isfri

• ishockey
• iskaffe
• iskald
• iskappe
• islagt
• istapp
• iste

• isterning
• istid
• Nordishavet
• pakkis
• sjøis
• Sørishavet
• vaniljeis

References

• “is” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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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

Terms derived from is

• drivis
• isbit
• isbjørn
• isbre
• isfjell
• isflak

• isfri
• ishockey
• iskald
• iskappe
• istapp
• iste

• isterning
• istid
• Nordishavet
• sjøis
• Sørishavet
• vaniljeis

References

• “is” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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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^[3], Delhi: Farsight Publishers and Distributors

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Old 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 (yakh), Pashto جح‎ (jaḥ), Ossetian их (ix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːs/

Noun

īs n

1. 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.

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

Declension

Declension of is (strong a-stem)

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

Derived terms

• īsċeald
• īsiġ

Descendants

• Middle English: is, ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
  • English: ice
  • Scots: ice

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Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-. Compare Old Saxon īs, Old English īs, Old Norse íss, Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis).

Noun

īs

1. ice

Descendants

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

    Alsatian: Iis (in the whole Alemannic Alsace, whereas it is "Eis" in Northernmost Alsace, influenced by Südfränkrich),

    Walser: isch, éisch

  • Bavarian: ais

    Cimbrian: àis, ais

    Mòcheno: ais

  • Central Franconian: Eis, Ies
  • German: Eis
  • Luxembourgish: Äis
  • Rhine Franconian:

    Pennsylvania German: Eis

  • Vilamovian: ajs
  • Yiddish: אײַז‎ (ayz)

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Old Irish

Etymology

The lemma is itself is from Proto-Celtic *esti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti; other forms are from either *h₁es- or *bʰuH-:

• am is from Proto-Celtic *emmi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁esmi, from *h₁es-.

Verb

is

1. 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

Form	1st sg.	2nd sg.	3rd sg.	1st pl.	2nd pl.	3rd pl.
Present indicative	am (relative): nonda	at, it (relative): nonda	is (relative): as	ammi, ammin, immi (relative): nondan	adib, idib, adi (relative): nondad	it (relative): ata, at
Present subjunctive	·ba	·bat, ·ba	ba (relative): bes, bas	·ban	·bad, bede	·bet (relative): bete, beta
Past subjunctive	·bin, ·badim	·badat	bid, bith (relative): bed, bad	bemmis	—	betis, bitis
Imperative		ba	bad, bed	ban, baán	bad, bed	bat
Future	be	ba	bid, bith	bemmi, bimmi	—	bit
Conditional	—	—	robad (relative): bed	—	—	robtis
Preterite and imperfect indicative	basa, robsa	basat, robsat	ba, robu (relative): ba	robummar	—	batir, robtar (relative): batar

Synonyms

• at·tá (substantive verb)

Derived terms

• cesu (“although... is”)
• condid (“so that... is”)
• in (“is... ?”)
• masu (“if... is”)
• ní (“is not”)

Descendants

• Irish: is

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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		-	-	-
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), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis).

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

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈis/
• (Carioca) IPA^(key): /ˈiʃ/

Noun

is

1. 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!

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Scots

Adverb

is (not comparable)

1. (South Scots) as

Synonyms

• es

Conjunction

is

1. (South Scots) as

Synonyms

• es

Pronoun

is (personal, non-emphatic)

1. (South Scots) me

See also

• A
• mei (emphatic variant)

Verb

is

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

See also

• ir

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Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• 's

Conjunction

is

1. and

Synonyms

• agus

Verb

is

1. 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

• an e...?
• bu
• chan e
• gur e

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Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

is c

1. (uncountable) Ice; frozen water.
2. (countable) Ice; a sheet of ice lying on a body of water.

Declension

Declension of is
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	is	isen	isar	isarna
Genitive	is	isens	isars	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
• isdämd
• isdös
• isfiske
• isflak
• isfläck
• isfri
• isfält
• isfågel
• 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
• isläge
• islägga
• islår
• 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
• issåg
• issågning
• issörja
• istapp
• iste
• istid
• isträning
• istäcke
• istäckt
• istärning
• isvak
• isvatten
• isvinter
• isvit
• isvägg
• isyxa
• isälv
• isöken
• nyis
• tunn is

 

References

• is in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

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Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English East.

Noun

is

1. East

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Turkish

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 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

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Volapük

Adverb

is

1. here