Where does “schwimmen” come from?

schwimmen (German) comes from Middle High German swimmen, from Old High German swimman, from Proto-West Germanic swimman, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- — to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim.

schwimmen (German): to swim; to float; to be flooded

Definitions

  1. to swim; to float; to be flooded

Ancestry of “schwimmen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanswimmento swim
2Old High Germanswimman—
3Proto-West Germanicswimmanto swim
4Proto-Germanicswimmanąto be unsteady; to swim; float
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswem(bʰ)-to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- →Every word from Proto-Germanic swimmaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic swimman →