Swedish
/ˈswiː.dɪʃ/noun
Of or relating to Sweden, its people, or its language.
Did you know?Swedish ultimately comes from the Old English name for the Svear, the people of ancient Sweden, whose ethnonym is preserved in Latin as Suiones in Tacitus’s writings.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*s(w)e-
“A reflexive root meaning “self” or “one’s own,” underlying many ethnonyms and identity words.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*Swēoniz
“The Svear, a North Germanic people of what is now Sweden.”
Old English
English
Swēo
“A Swede; a member of the people of Sweden.”
Old Norse
Old Norse
Svíar
“The Swedes, especially the inhabitants of Svealand.”
Middle English
English
Swedenish
“Pertaining to Sweden or its people.”
Modern English
English
Swedish
“Of or relating to Sweden, its people, or its language.”
Explore more surprising origins