sweet
Having the taste of sugar or honey; pleasant.
Etymology
From Old English swēte, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from PIE *sweh₂d- "sweet, pleasant." Latin suāvis "sweet, agreeable" gives English "suave" — originally meaning sweet-natured, now meaning smoothly charming. Greek hēdús "sweet, pleasant" gives "hedonism."
The Journey: *sweh₂d- → sweet
*sweh₂d-
*swōtuz
swēte
sweet
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *sweh₂d-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | hēdús |
| Latin | suāvis (sweet, pleasant) |
| Sanskrit | svādú |
| Lithuanian | saldùs |
| Tocharian B | swāre |
Did You Know?
English "sweet," Latin suāvis (giving "suave"), and Greek hēdús (giving "hedonism") all descend from PIE *sweh₂d-. Sweetness, suavity, and hedonism share one ancestor.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *sweh₂d-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.