Contracted from etwas, from Old High German eddehwaz. Compare German etwas (“something”), which shows the same contraction in many south-western dialects. Note that eppes is based on the properly High German form was, though Luxembourgish uses wat for “what”. The hybrid nature of Luxembourgish in this important criterion is also seen from the coexistence of dass and datt for the conjunction “that”. Compare Yiddish עפּעס (epes) and Pennsylvania German, Rhine Franconian, and Swabian ebbes.