An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/süß

by Friedrich Kluge

süß, adj., ‘sweet,’ from the equiv. MidHG. süeȥe, adj. (also suoȥe, swuoȥe, adv.), OHG. suoȥi (swuoȥi), adj., a common Teut. term, occurring also in the other Aryan languages. Comp. OSax. swôti, Du. zoet, AS. swête, E. sweet, OIc. sœ́tr, Goth. *swôtus (for which sū̆ts is found), ‘sweet.’ The Teut. swôt-u, from Aryan swâd-ú, is based on an Aryan root swā̆d; comp. Sans. svad, ‘sweet, delicious,’ and the root svad, ‘to taste nice’ (svâd, ‘to be rejoiced’), Gr. ἡδύς, ‘sweet,’ and ἥδομαι, ‘I rejoice’ (ἡδονή, ‘pleasure,’ ἁνδάνω, ‘to please’), Lat. suâvis for *suâdvis, ‘sweet’ (also suâdere, ‘to advise,’ lit. ‘to make tasty, pleasant’?). In the Teut. group, AS. swătan, Scotch swats, ‘beer,’ may be allied; on the other hand, the primary verb corresponding to Aryan swâdú-, ‘sweet,’ was lost at an early period in Teut.