Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “swimmable” come from?

swimmable (English) comes from English swim, from Middle English swime, from Old English swima, from Proto-West Germanic swimman, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- — to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim.

swimmable (English): Able to be swum in or across

Definitions

  1. Able to be swum in or across

Ancestry of “swimmable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishswimTo move through the water, without touching the...
2Middle Englishswime—
3Old Englishswimaa swoon, swimming in the head
4Proto-West Germanicswimmanto swim
5Proto-Germanicswimmanąto be unsteady; to swim; float
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswem(bʰ)-to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim

Words derived from “swimmable”

  • unswimmable
  • swimmably
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- →