swain

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*swé“oneself; separate; apart”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*swainaz“relative, young man, servant”
3. Old Norse · derived fromsveinn
4. Old English · inherited fromsweġen
5. Middle English · inherited fromswayn
6. English todayswain

From Middle English swayn, swain, sweyn, swein, from Old English sweġen (attested also as personal name Swein, Sweġen), from Old Norse sveinn, from Proto-Germanic *swainaz (“relative, young man, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“oneself; separate; apart”), thus properly one's own. Cognate with Danish svend (“hireling, young man”), Norwegian svein (“lad, young man, servant”) Icelandic sveinn (“boy, lad, servant”), Swedish sven (“swain, servant”), Low German Sween, dialectal German Schwein, Old English swān (“swineherd, lad”).

Words from the same roots