Etymology

swith

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Today it means: Strong; vehement. Full definition →

Middle English swith ← Old English swīþ ← Proto-West Germanic *swinþ
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swith · adjective1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*swinþaz“strong”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*swinþ
  3. Old English · inherited fromswīþ“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromswith
  5. English todayswith

From Middle English swith, from Old English swīþ (“strong, mighty, powerful, active, severe, violent”), from Proto-West Germanic *swinþ, from Proto-Germanic *swinþaz (“strong”). Cognate with Old Saxon swīth, Middle High German swind (Modern German geschwind (“fast, quick, swift”)), Middle Low German swîde (Modern Low German swied (“very, quite”)), Dutch gezwind (“fast, quick, swift”), West Frisian swiid (“impressive, special”), Old Norse svinnr, sviðr (“quick, clever, understanding, wise”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌸𐍃 (swinþs, “strong”). Possibly related to sound.

swith · adverb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*swento-“active, healthy”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*swinþê“strongly”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*swinþā
  4. Old English · inherited fromswīþe“very much, exceedingly, severely, violently, fiercely”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromswith
  6. English todayswith

From Middle English swith, swithe, from Old English swīþe (“very much, exceedingly, severely, violently, fiercely”), from Proto-West Germanic *swinþā, from Proto-Germanic *swinþê (“strongly”), from Proto-Indo-European *swento- (“active, healthy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian swied (“very”), West Frisian swiid (“very”), Dutch zwijd (“very, extremely”), Low German swied (“quite, very”), Dutch gezwind (“quick, swift”). Not related to superficially similar English swift.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.