Where does “swæþer” come from?

swæþer (Old English) comes from Old English hwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic hwaþar, from Proto-Germanic hwaþeraz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷóteros, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.

swæþer (Old English): whichever

Definitions

  1. whichever

Ancestry of “swæþer”, step by step

swæþer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English hwæþer

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhwæþerwhich; whether; used to introduce a question
2Proto-West Germanichwaþarwhich
3Proto-Germanichwaþerazwhich, what
4Proto-Indo-Europeankʷóteroswhich of two
5Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root

via Old English swā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishswāso
2Proto-West Germanicswāso, thus, in this manner; like, similar to; just...
3Proto-Germanicswaso, thus, in this manner
4Proto-Germanicswēlike, similar to; just like, in the same manner...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswēself (reflexive pronoun)
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷos →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷóteros →