Where does “swā” come from?

swā (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic swā, from Proto-Germanic swa, from Proto-Germanic swē, from Proto-Indo-European swē — self (reflexive pronoun).

swā (Old English): so

Definitions

  1. so

Ancestry of “swā”, step by step

swā traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-West Germanic swā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicswāso, thus, in this manner; like, similar to; just...
2Proto-Germanicswaso, thus, in this manner
3Proto-Germanicswēlike, similar to; just like, in the same manner...
4Proto-Indo-Europeanswēself (reflexive pronoun)

via Germanic *swa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanic*swa—
2Indo-European*swé—

Words derived from “swā”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swa →