Where does “swan” come from?
swan (Middle Low German) comes from Old Saxon swan, from Proto-West Germanic swan, from Proto-Germanic swanaz, from Proto-Indo-European swenh₂- — to sound.
Ancestry of “swan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Saxon | swan | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | swan | swan |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | swanaz | swan |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | swenh₂- | to sound |
Words derived from “swan”