Where does “vän” come from?
vän (Swedish) comes from Old Norse vinr, from Proto-Norse ᚹᛁᚾᛁᛉ, from Proto-Germanic winiz, from Proto-Indo-European wenh₁- — to love.
vän (Swedish): fair, beautiful; a friend
Definitions
- fair, beautiful; a friend
Ancestry of “vän”, step by step
vän traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Norse vinr
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | vinr | friend |
| 2 | Proto-Norse | ᚹᛁᚾᛁᛉ | friend |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | winiz | loved one, friend |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | wenh₁- | to love |
via Old Norse ván
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | ván | hope, expectation |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | wēniz | likely, to be expected; promising, hopeful; hope,... |
via Old Norse vænn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | vænn | likely, to be expected; bidding fair, likely to... |