Etymograph

English

sweep

Sweep comes from Middle English swepen ‘to sweep (something)’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *swaipaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipijaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaipijan‘to sweep’reconstructed
  4. Anglian Old Englishmodern*swēpanreconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swepen‘to sweep (something)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591sweep

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaipijaną‘to sweep’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaipijan‘to sweep’reconstructed
  4. Anglian Old Englishmodern*swēpanreconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swepen‘to sweep (something)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591sweep

Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “And like a peacock sweep along his tail.”

The story

More distantly related to Old Norse sveipa (whence Swedish svepa).

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *swaipaną ‘to sweep’

soup, swap, swoop, 6 more

Today it means

verb To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *swaipaną / sweep

Shirt and support for this word