swete
Haitian Creole
Etymology
From French souhaiter (“wish”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /swete/
Verb
swete
- to wish
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English swēte, swōt.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsweːt(ə)/, /ˈswoːt(ə)/, /ˈsoːt(ə)/
Adjective
swete
- sweet, pleasant-tasting
- sweet in smell
- a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 3690–3691:
- But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.
- Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.
- pleasant, likeable
- loved, dear, precious
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “swẹ̄t(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 March 2018.
Noun
swete (plural swetes)
- sweetness in taste or smell
- pleasantness, euphoria, bliss
References
- “swẹ̄te, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 9 March 2018.
Etymology 2
From Old English swāt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-. The vocalism was sometimes influenced by swǣtan.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈswɛːt/, /ˈswɔːt/
- (Northern) IPA(key): /ˈswɑːt/
Noun
swete (plural swetes)
Descendants
Etymology 3
Noun
swete
- alternative form of suet
Old English
Alternative forms
- swœ̄te, swoete
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂dus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsweː.te/
Adjective
swēte (superlative swētest)
Usage notes
- The sense "cute" is not clearly attested. However, it probably existed, since it occurs in both German süß and Icelandic sætur.
Declension
Declension of swēte — Strong
| Singular | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | swēte | swētu, swēto | swēte |
| Accusative | swētne | swēte | swēte |
| Genitive | swētes | swētre | swētes |
| Dative | swētum | swētre | swētum |
| Instrumental | swēte | swētre | swēte |
| Plural | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
| Nominative | swēte | swēta, swēte | swētu, swēto |
| Accusative | swēte | swēta, swēte | swētu, swēto |
| Genitive | swētra | swētra | swētra |
| Dative | swētum | swētum | swētum |
| Instrumental | swētum | swētum | swētum |
Declension of swēte — Weak