Etymology of sweet

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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

intj

Used as a positive response to good news or information.

noun

The basic taste sensation induced by sugar. · A confection made from sugar, or high in sugar content; a candy. · A food eaten for dessert. · Synonym of sweetheart, a term of affection.

adj

Tasting of sugars. · Retaining a portion of sugar. · Not of a salty taste. · Having a pleasant smell; fragrant.

verb

To sweeten.

adv

In a pleasant manner.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus Proto-Germanic *swōtuz Proto-Indo-European *-yos Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *swōtī Old English swēte Middle English swete English sweet From Middle English soot, sweete, swete, swoote, from Old English swēte, swoete, swōt, swœ̄te (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”), from *sweh₂d- (“sweet”) + *-us. Cognates Cognate with Yola sweet (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Alemannic German süeß (“sweet”), Bavarian siaß (“sweet; cute”), Central Franconian söß (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), German süss, süß (“sweet; cute”), Limburgish söüt (“sweet; cute”), Low German seut, sööt (“sweet”), Luxembourgish séiss (“sweet”), Vilamovian ziss (“sweet”), Yiddish זיס (zis, “sweet; cute”), Danish sød (“sweet; cute, pretty”), Faroese søtur (“sweet”), Icelandic sætur (“sweet; cute, pretty”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk søt (“sweet; cute”), Swedish söt (“sweet; cute”); also Latin suāvis (“delicious, pleasant, sweet”), Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús, “sweet; pleasant; glad, pleased”), Albanian shije (“flavour, taste”), Lithuanian sūdyti (“to add salt; to brine, souse”), Armenian քաղցր (kʻaġcʻr, “sweet”), Tocharian A swār (“sweet”), Tocharian B swāre (“sweet, tender”), Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú, “delicious, palatable, savoury, sweet, tasty; dainty, delicate”). Doublet of suave.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Root classification mention*sweh₂d-ine-pro
Inherited-form mentionsootenm
Inherited-form mentionswēteang
Inherited-form mention*swōtīgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*swōtuzgem-pro · sweet
Inherited-form mention*swéh₂dusine-pro · sweet
Cognate mentionsweetyol · sweet
Cognate mentionswäitstq · sweet
Cognate mentionswietfy · sweet
Cognate mentionsüeßgsw · sweet
Cognate mentionsiaßbar · sweet; cute
Cognate mentionsößgmw-cfr · sweet
Cognate mentionzoetnl · sweet
Cognate mentionsüssde
Cognate mentionsöütli · sweet; cute
Cognate mentionseutnds
Cognate mentionséisslb · sweet
Cognate mentionzisswym · sweet
Cognate mentionזיסyi · sweet; cute
Cognate mentionsødda · sweet; cute, pretty
Cognate mentionsøturfo · sweet
Cognate mentionsæturis · sweet; cute, pretty
Cognate mentionsötsv · sweet; cute
Cognate mentionsuāvisla · delicious, pleasant, sweet
Cognate mentionἡδύςgrc · sweet; pleasant; glad, pleased
Cognate mentionshijesq · flavour, taste
Cognate mentionsūdytilt · to add salt; to brine, souse
Cognate mentionքաղցրhy · sweet
Cognate mentionswārxto · sweet
Cognate mentionswāretxb · sweet, tender
Cognate mentionस्वादुsa · delicious, palatable, savoury, sweet, tasty; dainty, delicate
Doublet mentionsuaveen

This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:swete<id:sweet>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *sweh₂d-\nProto-Indo-European *-us\nProto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus\nProto-Germanic *swōtuz\nProto-Indo-European *-yos\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Germanic *-jaz\nProto-West Germanic *-ī\nProto-West Germanic *swōtī\nOld English swēte\nMiddle English swete\nEnglish sweet\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*swōtuz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"-ed\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yos\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yós\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-jaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ī\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*swōtī\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"swēte\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"swete\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"sweet\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"sweet\">"
    },
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      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sweh₂d-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "soot"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English soot"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "swēte"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English swēte"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*swōtī"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *swōtī"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*swōtuz",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*swéh₂dus",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "sweet",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola sweet (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "swäit",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "swiet",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian swiet (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "süeß",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German süeß (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "siaß",
        "t": "sweet; cute"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian siaß (“sweet; cute”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-cfr",
        "2": "söß",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Franconian söß (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "zoet",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch zoet (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "süss"
      },
      "expansion": "German süss"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "li",
        "2": "söüt",
        "t": "sweet; cute"
      },
      "expansion": "Limburgish söüt (“sweet; cute”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "seut"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German seut"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "séiss",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish séiss (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "ziss",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian ziss (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "זיס",
        "t": "sweet; cute"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish זיס (zis, “sweet; cute”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "sød",
        "t": "sweet; cute, pretty"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish sød (“sweet; cute, pretty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "søtur",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese søtur (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "sætur",
        "t": "sweet; cute, pretty"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic sætur (“sweet; cute, pretty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb,nn",
        "2": "søt",
        "t": "sweet; cute"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk søt (“sweet; cute”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "söt",
        "t": "sweet; cute"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish söt (“sweet; cute”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "suāvis",
        "t": "delicious, pleasant, sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin suāvis (“delicious, pleasant, sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "ἡδύς",
        "t": "sweet; pleasant; glad, pleased"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús, “sweet; pleasant; glad, pleased”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "shije",
        "t": "flavour, taste"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian shije (“flavour, taste”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "sūdyti",
        "t": "to add salt; to brine, souse"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian sūdyti (“to add salt; to brine, souse”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hy",
        "2": "քաղցր",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Armenian քաղցր (kʻaġcʻr, “sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "xto",
        "2": "swār",
        "t": "sweet"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian A swār (“sweet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "txb",
        "2": "swāre",
        "t": "sweet, tender"
      },
      "expansion": "Tocharian B swāre (“sweet, tender”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "स्वादु",
        "tr": "svādú",
        "t": "delicious, palatable, savoury, sweet, tasty; dainty, delicate"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú, “delicious, palatable, savoury, sweet, tasty; dainty, delicate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "suave"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of suave"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:swete<id:sweet>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *sweh₂d-\nProto-Indo-European *-us\nProto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus\nProto-Germanic *swōtuz\nProto-Indo-European *-yos\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Germanic *-jaz\nProto-West Germanic *-ī\nProto-West Germanic *swōtī\nOld English swēte\nMiddle English swete\nEnglish sweet"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*sweh₂d-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sweh₂d-"
    ],
    [
      "*-us",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-us"
    ],
    [
      "*swéh₂dus",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/swéh₂dus"
    ],
    [
      "*swōtuz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swōtuz"
    ],
    [
      "*-yos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yos"
    ],
    [
      "*-yós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yós"
    ],
    [
      "*-jaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-jaz#Proto-Germanic:_-ed"
    ],
    [
      "*-ī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-ī#Proto-West_Germanic:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "*swōtī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/swōtī"
    ],
    [
      "swēte",
      "swete#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "swete",
      "swete#Middle_English:_sweet"
    ],
    [
      "soot",
      "soot#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sweete",
      "sweete#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "swete",
      "swete#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "swoote",
      "swoote#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "swēte",
      "swete#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "swoete",
      "swoete#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "swōt",
      "swot#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "swœ̄te",
      "swœte#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*swōtī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/swōtī"
    ],
    [
      "*swōtuz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/swōtuz"
    ],
    [
      "*swéh₂dus",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/swéh₂dus"
    ],
    [
      "*sweh₂d-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sweh₂d-"
    ],
    [
      "*-us",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-us"
    ],
    [
      "sweet",
      "sweet#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "swäit",
      "swäit#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "swiet",
      "swiet#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "süeß",
      "süeß#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "siaß",
      "siaß#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "söß",
      "söß#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "zoet",
      "zoet#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "süss",
      "süss#German"
    ],
    [
      "süß",
      "süß#German"
    ],
    [
      "söüt",
      "söüt#Limburgish"
    ],
    [
      "seut",
      "seut#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "sööt",
      "sööt#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "séiss",
      "séiss#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "ziss",
      "ziss#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "זיס",
      "זיס#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "sød",
      "sød#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "søtur",
      "søtur#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "sætur",
      "sætur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "søt#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "søt",
      "søt#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "söt",
      "söt#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "suāvis",
      "suavis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ἡδύς",
      "ἡδύς#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "shije",
      "shije#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "sūdyti",
      "sūdyti#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "քաղցր",
      "քաղցր#Armenian"
    ],
    [
      "swār",
      "swār#Tocharian_A"
    ],
    [
      "swāre",
      "swāre#Tocharian_B"
    ],
    [
      "स्वादु",
      "स्वादु#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "suave",
      "suave#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "Used as a positive response to good news or information."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The basic taste sensation induced by sugar.",
        "A confection made from sugar, or high in sugar content; a candy.",
        "A food eaten for dessert.",
        "Synonym of sweetheart, a term of affection."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "India",
        "UK",
        "countable",
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    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Tasting of sugars.",
        "Retaining a portion of sugar.",
        "Not of a salty taste.",
        "Having a pleasant smell; fragrant."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 29518
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To sweeten."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "poetic"
      ],
      "recordId": "ebaff3795416f051f9ec93a1844879ca7637d4b9bea2bf32c311c8bc7379b1e2",
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    },
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "In a pleasant manner."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "f65bbc6b92d38fd0aa7363521863546012a95c85dbba676f12a391784fcddd90",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 14,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

The source etymologies

Unnumbered source etymology

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Where this record stops

Source and snapshot