Where does “swān” come from?
swān (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic swan, from Proto-Germanic swanaz, from Proto-Indo-European swenh₂- — to sound.
swān (Old English): swineherd, lad
Ancestry of “swān”, step by step
swān traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Proto-West Germanic swan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | swan | swan |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | swanaz | swan |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | swenh₂- | to sound |
via Proto-Germanic swainaz
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | swainaz | relative; kinsman; young man; herder; herdsman,... |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | swé | self |
Words derived from “swān”