Wordwyrt

sweetness

/ˈswitnəs/SWEET-nuhs
/ˈswitnəs/SWEET-nuhs

Meaningthe state of being sweet

Common meaning: a sweet taste

Other meanings: kindness

Journey through time

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swad-‘please, to be sweet, esp’source
  2. Old Englishswetesource
  3. Middle Englishswetesource
  4. Englishsweet‘tasting of sugar’
  5. Englishformed in English from sweetsweetness‘a sweet taste’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from sweet + -ness.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), SWEET, p.616 · scan

Source words

  • swete Old English · source word “pleasant”

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