An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Schwäher

by Friedrich Kluge

Schwäher, m., ‘father-in-law,’ from MidHG. swëher, OHG. swëhur, m., ‘father-in-law,’ late OHG. also ‘brother-in-law’; comp. AS. sweór (from sweohor), ‘father-in-law’ (obsolete even at the end of the AS. period), Goth. swaihra, ‘father-in-law.’ A primit. Teut. and old Aryan word, with the primary form swekros, swekuros; comp. Gr. ἑκυρός, Lat. socer (for *swecuro-), Sans. çváçuras (tor *svaçuras), OSlov. swkrŭ, Lith. szészuras, ‘father-in-law.’ The orig. sense of the common Aryan word cannot be ascertained; it is, however, cognate with Schwager (Aryan swêkrós) and Schwester (Aryan swésô). Corresponding to the now almost obsolete Schwäher, there has existed from primit. Teut. times a fem. swekrũ, ‘mother-in-law,’ just as from Sans. çvaçrũ (for *svaçrũ) are derived Lat. socrûs (for *swecrus), Gr. ἑκυρά (the Goth. form must have been *swigrus, f., for which swaíhrô is used). The word was current in AS. as swëger, which also became obsolete at an early period. Only in G. was it retained, OHG. swigar, MidHG. swiger, f., ‘mother-in-law,’ from which ModHG., constructed the tautological compound Schwiegermutter, while the corresponding ModHG. masc. Swiegervater, formed from the latter, supplanted tho old term Schwäher; similarly we have the compounds Schwiegereltern, -sohn, -tochter, &c. It is evident that the mother-in-law plays a more important rôle in marriage than the father-in-law.