Etymograph

English

swidden

Swidden may come from Middle English swithen ‘to burn, scorch, singe’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swithen1‘to burn, scorch, singe’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2006swidden1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English swidden
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Guido Sprenger, Out of the ashes: Swidden cultivation in highland Laos: “‘Swidden’ has entered anthropological jargon, denoting not only a…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500swithenWiktionary, English swidden‘to burn, scorch, singe’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2006swiddenWiktionary, English swidden. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Guido Sprenger, Out of the ashes: Swidden cultivation in highland Laos: “‘Swidden’ has entered anthropological jargon, denoting not only a…”

first attested First attested in 1868 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1868. If their respective theories align, then a distant cognate of German Schwyz, hence Swiss.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle English swithen

Today it means

noun An area of land that has been cleared by cutting the vegetation and burning it; slash and burn.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “swidden”. 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 / Middle English swithen / swidden

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