Where does “sweet” come from?

Sweet derives from Middle English sweete, from Old English swēte, from Proto-Germanic swait-, from Proto-Indo-European swoyd-, sweyd-, and sweh₂d-, with origins in a root meaning to burn or scorch.

sweet (English): Having a pleasant taste, especially one relating...

Definitions

  1. Having a pleasant taste, especially one relating...

Ancestry of “sweet”, step by step

sweet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English swete

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishswetesweet, pleasant-tasting; sweet in smell;...
2Old Englishswētesweet
3Proto-West Germanicswōtīsweet
4Proto-Germanicswōtuzsweet
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswéh₂dussweet
6Proto-Indo-Europeansweh₂d-sweet

via French Ledoux

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchLedoux—

Words derived from “sweet”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European sweh₂d- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéh₂dus →Every word from Proto-Germanic swōtuz →