Etymology of Sweden 976346 221089016 2008-06-23T00:30:31Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Unreferenced|date=June 2008}} '''Sweden''' was originally a plural form of ''[[Swede]]'' and is a so-called "back-formation", from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''Sweoðeod'', which meant "people of the [[Swedish people|Swedes]]" ([[Old Norse]] ''[[Svíþjóð]]'', [[Latin]] ''Suetidi''). This word is derived from ''Sweon''/''Sweonas'' ([[Old Norse]] ''Sviar'', [[Latin]] ''[[Suiones]]''). As the name for the country itself, ''Sweden'' is borrowed from [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''Zweden'', which is probably the dative case of ''Zwede''. It appeared in [[Scots language|Scots]] during the 17th century in forms such as ''Swethin'' and ''Swadne''. Before this, Sweden was called ''Swedeland'', and in [[Old English language|Old English]] it was called ''Sweoland'' (see [[Svealand]]) or ''Sweorice'' ([[Old Norse]] ''Sviariki'', which is an older form of the modern Swedish name for the country, ''Sverige''). In Sweden, the form ''Swerike'' is attested from the end of the 13th century, ''Svearike'', from the 14th century, as well as the Icelandic ''Svíaríki'' and the [[Old Gutnish]] ''Suiariki''. In those days the meaning was restricted to the older Swedish region in [[Svealand]] and did not always include [[Götaland]], the land of the [[Geats]]. The word ''rike'', meaning realm or kingdom, is the same as Danish ''rige'' and German ''[[Reich]]'' and also appears in the name of the parliament, ''[[riksdag]]'', Danish ''[[rigsdag]]'', German ''[[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]]''. Towards the end of the 15th century, the form had changed to ''Swerighe'' both in Swedish and Danish, like ''bakare'' ("baker") to ''bagare'' and ''mik'' ("me") to ''mig''. Finally in the 17th century, forms such as ''Swerghe'' and ''Swirghe'' appeared. [[Gustavus Adolphus]] used the form ''Swirge''. Today, the pronunciation has changed the form further and it is [[Swedish phonology|pronounced]] {{IPA|/ˈsvær.jə/}} in modern Swedish, while the late medieval form ''Sverige'' is used in writing. Much is made about the difference between the medieval forms ''Svearike'' and ''Sverige''. Although, medieval Swedes were unlikely to see it as anything else but a matter of pronunciation. There is, however, an alternative hypothesis, first proposed by [[Ivar Modéer]], and later popularized by the Swedish author [[Jan Guillou]] that the form is a loan from the Danish form of ''Sverike'' (Sverige). The objective is to separate the two forms as two different concepts, and today ''Svearike'' has formal connotations, and may even be used to treat Iron Age-Medieval ''Svearike'' as a different nation from the later ''Sverige''. Notably, a naming that stems from a completely different root is the one used in some [[Finno-Ugric languages]], in [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ''Ruotsi'', in [[Estonian language|Estonian]] ''Rootsi'', etc.. ==See also== *[[Swedish language]] *[[Sweden]] *[[List of country name etymologies]] [[Category:Country name etymology|Sweden]] [[Category:Swedish culture|Etymology]]