Where does “schwer” come from?

schwer (German) comes from Middle High German swær, from Old High German swār, from Proto-West Germanic swār, from Proto-Germanic swēraz, from Proto-Indo-European swēr- — heavy.

schwer (German): heavy, weighty; difficult, hard; serious

Definitions

  1. heavy, weighty; difficult, hard; serious

Ancestry of “schwer”, step by step

schwer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle High German swær

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanswær
2Old High Germanswārheavy
3Proto-West Germanicswārheavy
4Proto-Germanicswērazheavy; grave, grievous, serious, important
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswēr-heavy

via English schwa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishschwaAn indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a"...
2GermanSchwaschwa; shva
3Hebrewשְׁוָא

Words derived from “schwer

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swēr-