swidden

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*swīþaną
2. Old High German · derived fromswedan“to be burned”
3. Old Norse · derived fromsviðna“to be burned”
4. Old Norse · derived fromsvíða“to singe, burn”
5. Middle English · derived fromswithen
6. English todayswidden

Possibly from a dialectal form *swiden of Middle English swithen, past participle of Middle English swithen (“to burn, scorch, singe”), from Old Norse svíða (“to singe, burn”). Compare also Old Norse sviðinn (“burnt, singed”, past participle). Alternatively, from Old Norse sviðna (“to be burned”) or Old High German swedan (“to be burned”). Either way, probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic *swīþaną. First attested in 1868. If their respective theories align, then a distant cognate of German Schwyz, hence Swiss.