Where does “sweet” come from?
sweet (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch swēt, from Proto-Germanic swait-, from Proto-Indo-European swoyd-, from Proto-Indo-European sweyd- — sweat; to sweat.
Ancestry of “sweet”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Dutch | swēt | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | swait- | sweat; blood |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | swoyd- | to sweat |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sweyd- | sweat; to sweat |
Words derived from “sweet”