Etymologically
Log in

sweat

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /swɛt/[1]

Etymology

The verb is Middle English sweten, inherited from Old English swǣtan (“to perspire; to toil”), from the noun swāt (“perspiration; toil; blood”),[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *swaitaz, source also of Dutch zweet and German Schweiß,[3][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *sweid- (“to sweat”), also the source of Latin sudor, Greek hidrṓs and Sanskrit svedah.[3][5][6] The modern noun swete is an alteration of swot, swoet, after the verb.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To perspire and to work hard: before 899, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care.[2]

Semantic evolution

Old English swāt could also mean blood, and the life-blood in to lose the sweat is from about 1320.[3][7] Moisture exuded through the skin is from about 1375,[7] and the sweat of one's brow, toil, from the late 14th century, after Genesis 3:19.[3][7] To be worried or vexed is from about 1400,[3] and to cause to sweat from the late 14th century.[3] Sweat equity, interest in property gained by improving it, is from 1968.[3]

Timeline

  • before 899 – to sweat; to toil.[2]
  • c. 1320 – life-blood (obsolete).[7]
  • c. 1375 – perspiration.[7]
  • c. 1400 – to be anxious.[3]
  • 1968 – sweat equity.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Moisture given off through the pores of the skin, especially in heat, exertion or fear; perspiration.
  2. (informal) A state of anxiety or effort: in a sweat.
  3. (sweats, informal) A tracksuit or sweatpants.

Verb

  1. To give off sweat through the skin.
  2. To work hard; to toil.
  3. (informal) To worry or be anxious.

Word family

  • sweatless
  • sweatband
  • sweatbox
  • sweatpants
  • sweathouse
  • sweatshirt
  • sweatshop
  • sweaty
  • sweater
  • sudorific

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press