swillan (Old English)

Where does "swillan" come from?

The Old English verb 'swillan', meaning 'to gargle'[1], descends from the Proto-West Germanic form '*swilljan'[1]. This in turn traces back to the Proto-Germanic '*swiljaną', which carried the original sense of 'to gulp, swallow'[1]. Ultimately, the word finds its roots in the Proto-Indo-European root '*swel-', representing the concept of 'to drink, gulp, swallow'[1].

Open questions

• The Proto-Indo-European root '*swel-' is a linguistic reconstruction rather than an attested form. [1]
• The link between the Proto-Germanic '*swiljaną' and the Proto-Indo-European root '*swel-' is reconstructed based on comparative evidence. [1]

Full etymology tree

• swillan (Old English), 'to gargle'
  • inherited *swilljan (Proto-West Germanic)
    • inherited *swiljaną (Proto-Germanic)
      • inherited *swel- (Proto-Indo-European)

Sources

1. swillan (Old English) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris