An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/schwinden

by Friedrich Kluge

schwinden, vb., ‘to vanish, dwindle away, decay, perish,’ from MidHG. swinden, OHG. swintan, ‘to vanish, pass away, grow lean, become unconscious, faint’; corresponding to AS. swindan (wanting in E.), ‘to vanish’; probably allied to a root swī̆ (like Goth. standan to the root stā̆?). The root swī̆ appears in OHG. swinan, MidHG. swînen, ‘to decrease, disappear, grow lean, become unconscious,’ OIc. svína, ‘to subside,’ svía, ‘to abate,’ OIc. svíme, AS. svîma, Du. zwijm, ‘giddiness, vertigo.’ In the non-Teut. languages the root swī̆, ‘to decrease,’ has not yet been authenticated; the comparison with Gr. σί-νομας, ‘I plunder, damage,’ is dubious. —