The Spanish conjunction 'y' meaning 'and' comes from the Latin word 'et'. This evolution followed two parallel paths through Medieval Latin and Old Spanish. In Medieval Latin, 'et' was commonly abbreviated as the symbol '&' (which is why we call this symbol an 'ampersand' today), while in Old Spanish it became 'e'. These forms eventually converged into the modern Spanish 'y'.

When 'y' appears before words that begin with the sound /i/, it changes to 'e' to avoid two similar sounds together - a remnant of its Old Spanish form.

Since 'y' is one of the most basic and common words in Spanish, there aren't really any simpler related Spanish words. However, you might notice that when 'y' comes before words starting with 'i' or 'hi', it changes to 'e' (as in 'Juan e Isabel' instead of 'Juan y Isabel'). This 'e' form is actually closer to the Old Spanish version of the word.

While English 'and' is not related to Spanish 'y', the '&' symbol (ampersand) that we use in English is directly related! Both come from the Latin word 'et'. The ampersand symbol '&' actually evolved from a stylized writing of the letters 'e' and 't' combined together, which you can still kind of see in its shape if you look closely.