Where does “geswican” come from?
geswican (Old English) comes from Old English ġē, from Proto-Germanic jahw, from Proto-Germanic -hw, from Proto-Germanic -hwe, from Proto-Indo-European -kʷe — and; Forms distributives from interrogatives.
geswican (Old English): to stop, quit
Definitions
- to stop, quit
Ancestry of “geswican”, step by step
geswican traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English ġē
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | ġē | ye |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | jahw | and, also |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | -hw | and; Forms distributives from interrogatives |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -hwe | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -kʷe | and; Forms distributives from interrogatives |
via Old English swīcan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | swīcan | to wander, depart, cease from, yield, give way,... |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | swīkwan | to dodge, to avoid; to betray |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | swīkwaną | to move out of the way; dodge; swerve; avoid;... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |