Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “swim” come from?

Swim comes from Middle English swimmen, from Old English swimman, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)-.

swim (English): To move through the water, without touching the...

Definitions

  1. To move through the water, without touching the...

Ancestry of “swim”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishswime—
2Old Englishswimaa swoon, swimming in the head
3Proto-West Germanicswimmanto swim
4Proto-Germanicswimmanąto be unsteady; to swim; float
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswem(bʰ)-to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim

Words derived from “swim”

  • swimming
  • swimsuit
  • swimmingly
  • swimwear
  • swimmable
  • swimmy
  • outswim
  • swimmeth
  • aswim
  • nonswimming
  • swimsuited
  • unswimmable
  • swimmest
  • swimmingness
  • preswim
  • postswim
  • swimshorts
  • swimathon
  • swimcap
  • swimmably
  • finswimming
  • midswim
  • swimmist
  • swimmily
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- →