Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “swing” come from?

Swing comes from Middle English swingan, from Old English swingan, from Proto-Germanic swinganą, from Proto-Indo-European sweng-.

swing (English): To rotate about an off-centre fixed point; To...

Definitions

  1. To rotate about an off-centre fixed point; To...

Ancestry of “swing”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishswingen—
2Old Englishswinganto swinge, flog, beat, scourge; to give a blow...
3Proto-West Germanic*swingan—
4Proto-Germanicswinganąto swing
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswenk-to bend, swing, swivel

Words derived from “swing”

  • swinging
  • upswing
  • backswing
  • downswing
  • swinger
  • swingarm
  • midswing
  • swingy
  • preswing
  • swingset
  • aswing
  • swingingly
  • swingeth
  • swingman
  • swingby
  • overswing
  • outswinger
  • swingable
  • inswinging
  • outswing
  • swingboat
  • swingout
  • swingometer
  • swingline
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swenk- →