Etymograph

English

switch

Switch is perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch ‘twig’, recorded from about 1592.

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500swijch1‘twig’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1811switch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English switch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, Walter Nicol: “Switch and clip thorn and other deciduous hedges.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500swijchWiktionary, English switch‘twig’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1811switchWiktionary, English switch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, Walter Nicol: “Switch and clip thorn and other deciduous hedges.”

first attested first attested in c. 1592 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch (‘twig’), first attested in c. 1592. The mechanical device for altering the direction of something sense is first attested in c. 1797, pertaining to pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once wooden.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle Dutch swijch

Today it means

noun A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “switch”. 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 Dutch swijch / switch

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