Where does “swa hwær swa” come from?

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

swa hwær swa (Old English): wheresoever

Definitions

  1. wheresoever

Ancestry of “swa hwær swa”, step by step

swa hwær swa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

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)

via Old English hwær

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhwærwhere; anywhere, somewhere
2Proto-West Germanichwārwhere
3Proto-Germanichwarwhere, in what place
4Proto-Germanichwēr—
5Proto-Indo-European*kʷís—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swē →Every word from Proto-Germanic swa →