sweart
Old English
Alternative forms
- swart, swært
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *swartaz (“black”), from Proto-Indo-European *swordo- (“dirty, dark, black”). Cognate with Old Frisian swart, swert, Old Saxon swart, Old Dutch swart (Dutch zwart), Old High German swarz (German schwarz), Old Norse svartr (Swedish svart).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /swæɑrt/
Adjective
sweart
- swarthy, black, dark; gloomy; evil, infamous
- Uncertain date, Unknown author, Beowulf[1], lines 166–167:
- Heorot eardode, / sincfage sel - sweartum nihtum;
- O'er Heorot he lorded, / gold-bright hall, in gloomy nights;
- Heorot eardode, / sincfage sel - sweartum nihtum;
- Uncertain date, Unknown author, Beowulf[1], lines 166–167:
Declension
| Weak | Strong | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | ||||||||||
| m | n | f | m | n | f | m | n | f | |||||
| nominative | swearta | swearte | swearte | sweartan | nom. | sweart | swearte | sweart | swearta, -e | ||||
| accusative | sweartan | swearte | sweartan | acc. | sweartne | sweart | swearte | swearte | sweart | swearta, -e | |||
| genitive | sweartan | sweartra, sweartena | gen. | sweartes | sweartes | sweartre | sweartra | ||||||
| dative | sweartan | sweartum | dat. | sweartum | sweartum | sweartre | sweartum | ||||||
| instrumental | swearte | ||||||||||||