was
Before was was was, was was is.
The sentence is a meta-linguistic puzzle suggesting that the modern word 'was' once existed in a different form — using 'was' three times in a row to talk about its own historical evolution.
Meanings (pronounced /wɒz/)
the past tense first/third-person singular of 'be' — denotes past existence, identity, or state
- She was a teacher for thirty years.
- It was raining when we arrived.
the same word, mentioned (rather than used) in a meta-linguistic context
- The word 'was' has only three letters.
- 'Was' was once spelled 'wæs' in Old English.
Word origin
From Old English wæs, the past tense first/third-person singular of wesan ('to be, exist'). One of the three Indo-European roots that fused to form the modern English copula 'be': wesan supplied past forms (was, were); bēon supplied infinitive and future (be, been); ettan/eom supplied present forms (am, is, are). The result is one of the most irregular verbs in any modern European language.
Fun fact
The modern English verb 'be' is the most irregular verb in the language — its forms 'am', 'is', 'are', 'was', 'were', 'be', 'been', and 'being' come from at least three completely separate Proto-Indo-European roots that fused over centuries. 'Was' descends from *h₂wes- ('to dwell'), 'is' descends from *h₁es- ('to exist'), 'be' descends from *bʰuH- ('to grow'). One verb, three ancient histories.