Etymograph

English

such

Such comes from Middle English such, from Old English swelċ, from Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz ‘so formed’, from *swa ‘so’ + *-līkaz ‘like’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swa1‘so’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swalīkaz2‘so formed’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swalīk2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150swelċ2‘such’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500such2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595such2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English such
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “In rushed one and tells him such a knight…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz‘so’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swalīkazWiktionary, English such‘so formed’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swalīkWiktionary, English suchreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150swelċWiktionary, English such‘such’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suchWiktionary, English such
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1595suchWiktionary, English such. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “In rushed one and tells him such a knight…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with such, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’

  • self ← salve ← *selbaz ← *selbʰ-
  • solo ← sōlus ← *swelos
  • idiot ← idiote ← idiote ← idiota ← ἰδιώτης
  • suicide ← suī ← *s(w)ē
  • sole ← sol ← sōlus ← *swelos
  • solitary ← solitarie ← sōlitārius ← solitas ← solus
  • sans ← saunz ← sine
  • solitude ← sōlitūdō ← sōlus ← *swelos
  • desolate ← desolaten ← dēsōlātus ← dēsōlō ← sōlus
  • desolation ← desolacioun ← desolacion ← dēsōlātiō ← dēsōlō
  • solitaire ← sōlitārius ← solitas ← solus ← *swelos
  • swain ← swayn ← sweġen ← sveinn ← *swainaz

25 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

det Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “such”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *swa / such