Where does “bortbyting” come from?

bortbyting (Swedish) comes from Swedish bort, from Old Norse burt, from Old Norse braut, from Proto-Germanic brautō, from Proto-Germanic breutaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- — to break.

bortbyting (Swedish): changeling; in Swedish mythology, an infant of a troll which has secretly been exchanged for a human infant

Definitions

  1. changeling; in Swedish mythology, an infant of a troll which has secretly been exchanged for a human infant

Ancestry of “bortbyting”, step by step

bortbyting traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Swedish bort

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishbortaway, off
2Old Norseburt—
3Old Norsebrautroad, cleared path
4Proto-Germanicbrautō—
5Proto-Germanicbreutanąto destroy, crush, break
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrewd-to break

via Swedish byta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishbytato switch; to exchange; to switch; to change...
2Old Norsebýta—
3Middle Low Germanbûtento plunder
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic breutaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic brautō →