Where does “Swiss” come from?
Swiss comes from Middle French Suisse, from Middle High German Swīzer, from Middle High German Swīz, from Old High German Suittes, from Old High German swīdan, from Proto-Germanic swīþaną, from Proto-Indo-European swey-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sew-.
Swiss (English): Of, from, or pertaining to Switzerland or the...
Definitions
- Of, from, or pertaining to Switzerland or the...
Ancestry of “Swiss”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | Suisse | male Swiss person |
| 2 | Middle High German | Swīzer | male person from the valley or the town of Schwyz |
| 3 | Middle High German | Swīz | the valley or the town of Schwyz; Schwyz |
| 4 | Old High German | Suittes | the town of Schwyz |
| 5 | Old High German | swīdan | to burn |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | swīþan | to burn, to singe |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | swīþaną | to burn, singe |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | swey- | to twist, swing; to hiss; whistle; to swing,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sew- | to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to... |
Words derived from “Swiss”