Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “schwa” come from?

Schwa is an English term borrowed from German Schwa, ultimately derived from Hebrew šəwā, the name of a Hebrew vowel diacritic mark.

schwa (English): An indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a"...

Definitions

  1. An indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a"...

Ancestry of “schwa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwaschwa; shva
2Hebrewשְׁוָא—

Words derived from “schwa”

  • schwaless
  • श्वा
Every word from Hebrew שְׁוָא →