Where does “swem” come from?
swem (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch zwemmen, from Middle Dutch swemmen, from Old Dutch swimman, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- — to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim.
swem (Afrikaans): to swim
Ancestry of “swem”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | zwemmen | to swim |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | swemmen | to swim; to float; to overflow, to have in... |
| 3 | Old Dutch | swimman | to swim |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | swimmaną | to be unsteady; to swim; float |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |