Etymograph

English

sweater

Sweater comes from Middle English swētere ‘one who sweats’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sweyd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sweyd-1‘to sweat’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swait-2‘sweat’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaitijaną2‘to sweat’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaitijan2‘to sweat’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150swǣtan3‘to sweat’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swēten3‘to sweat’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swētere4‘one who sweats’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1894sweater4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *swait-
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English swætan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English swetere
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English sweater
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1894, New York, Annual Report (volumes 7-8: “If the piecework system had not existed there never…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sweyd-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *swait-‘to sweat’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swait-Wiktionary, Old English swætan‘sweat’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swaitijanąWiktionary, Old English swætan‘to sweat’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swaitijanWiktionary, Old English swætan‘to sweat’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150swǣtanWiktionary, Middle English swetere‘to sweat’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swētenWiktionary, Middle English swetere‘to sweat’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swētereWiktionary, English sweater‘one who sweats’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1894sweaterWiktionary, English sweater. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1894, New York, Annual Report (volumes 7-8: “If the piecework system had not existed there never…”

Formed from sweat + -er

Proto-Indo-European *sweyd- ‘to sweat’

Proto-Indo-European *swoyd- ‘to sweat’

Proto-Germanic *swait-

Old English swāt

Middle English swete ‘blood’

English sweat

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sweyd- ‘to sweat’

exude, swot, 18 more

Today it means

noun A knitted jacket or jersey, usually of thick wool, worn by athletes before or after exercise.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sweater”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *swait-, Old English swætan, Middle English swetere. 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-Indo-European *sweyd- / sweater

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