swete

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English swēte, swōt, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus.

Alternative forms

• suete, sweete, swote, swoote, swoot, sote, soot

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsweːt(ə)/, /ˈswoːt(ə)/, /ˈsoːt(ə)/

Adjective

swete

1. sweet, pleasant-tasting
2. sweet in smell

   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 3690-3691:

     But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.

     Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.

3. pleasant, likeable
4. loved, dear, precious

Derived terms

• hony-swete

Descendants

• English: sweet
• Scots: sweet, sweit, swet

References

• “swẹ̄t(e (adj.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-09.

Noun

swete (plural swetes)

1. sweetness in taste or smell
2. pleasantness, euphoria, bliss

References

• “swẹ̄te (n.(2))”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-09.

Etymology 2

From Old English swāt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-. The vocalism was sometimes influenced by swǣtan.

Alternative forms

• swette, swhete, squete, swæt, swate, swote, swot

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswɛːt/, /ˈswɔːt/
• IPA^(key): /ˈswɑːt/

Noun

swete (plural swetes)

1. blood
2. sweat, perspiration

Descendants

• English: sweat; swot
  • → Esperanto: ŝvito
• Scots: sweet, swate, swait, swete, sweit

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Old English

Alternative forms

• sƿēte — wynn spelling

Etymology

From earlier *swœ̄tī, from Anglo-Frisian *swōtī, from West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂dus. Cognate with Old Frisian swēte, Old Saxon swōti, Old Dutch suoti, Old High German suozi, Old Norse sœtr, Latin suavis, Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús), Sanskrit स्वादु (svādu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsweː.te/

Adjective

swēte

1. sweet

Declension

Declension of swēte — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	swēte	swētu, swēto	swēte
Accusative	swētne	swēte	swēte
Genitive	swētes	swētre	swētes
Dative	swētum	swētre	swētum
Instrumental	swēte	swētre	swēte
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	swēte	swēta, swēte	swētu, swēto
Accusative	swēte	swēta, swēte	swētu, swēto
Genitive	swētra	swētra	swētra
Dative	swētum	swētum	swētum
Instrumental	swētum	swētum	swētum

Declension of swēte — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	swēta	swēte	swēte
Accusative	swētan	swētan	swēte
Genitive	swētan	swētan	swētan
Dative	swētan	swētan	swētan
Instrumental	swētan	swētan	swētan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	swētan	swētan	swētan
Accusative	swētan	swētan	swētan
Genitive	swētra, swētena	swētra, swētena	swētra, swētena
Dative	swētum	swētum	swētum
Instrumental	swētum	swētum	swētum

Derived terms

• swētlīċe
• swētnes
• swōte

Descendants

• Middle English: swete, soote; swoote, sweete
  • Scots: swet, sweit, sweet
  • English: sweet