Etymology Explorer › Middle Dutch

Where does “swerm” come from?

swerm (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch swarm, from Proto-Germanic swarmaz, from Proto-Indo-European swēr- — heavy.

Ancestry of “swerm”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchswarm—
2Proto-Germanicswarmazswarm; dizziness
3Proto-Indo-Europeanswēr-heavy

Words derived from “swerm”

  • zwerm
  • bijenzwerm
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swēr- →