*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of swart

From Middle English swart, from Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz, from Proto-Indo-European *swerd-. Doublet of Schwarz.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny. · Black. · Gloomy; malignant.

noun

Black or dark dyestuff.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English swart, from Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz, from Proto-Indo-European *swerd-. Doublet of Schwarz.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "swart"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English swart"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sweart"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sweart"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*swart"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *swart"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swartaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swartaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*swerd-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *swerd-"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Schwarz"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Schwarz"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "swart",
      "swart#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sweart",
      "sweart#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*swart",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/swart"
    ],
    [
      "*swartaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swartaz"
    ],
    [
      "*swerd-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/swerd-"
    ],
    [
      "Schwarz",
      "Schwarz#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny.",
        "Black.",
        "Gloomy; malignant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    },
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Black or dark dyestuff."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "27580e9a82e6cc63dd60da95d6e7c6df3be3227b596a3973200f49971c3a8777",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make swart or tawny; blacken; tan.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English swarten, from Old English sweartian, from Proto-West Germanic *swartōn, from Proto-Germanic *swartōną. By surface analysis, swart + -en.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "swarten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English swarten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sweartian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sweartian"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*swartōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *swartōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swartōną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swartōną"
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "swart#Etymology 1",
        "3": "-en<id:inchoative>"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, swart + -en"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "swarten",
      "swarten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sweartian",
      "sweartian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*swartōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/swartōn"
    ],
    [
      "*swartōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swartōną"
    ],
    [
      "swart",
      "swart#Etymology 1"
    ],
    [
      "-en",
      "-en#English:_inchoative"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make swart or tawny; blacken; tan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Obsolete spelling of sward.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variant of sward.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "sward",
      "sward#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete spelling of sward."
      ],
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        "alt-of",
        "obsolete",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for swart →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3dhcnQ