Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary — *andaswarjanąScott K. ShayWardja Presshttps://protogermanic.org/pgmc_andaswarjaną
Single-entry extract from the dictionary. Cross-references to other entries point to their identifiers in the full dictionary.
Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11)GuusKroonenBrill2013Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben (Janua Linguarum)ElmarSeeboldSeries PracticaMouton851970Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, vol. VIIIRosemarieLührGöttingenVandenhoeck & Ruprecht2024*swer-to resound loudly, swearandswaruanswerandsvaranswerस्वरतिto sound, resound, sing
verbWeak class 1to answer, replyFrom *anda- + *swarjaną, whose older sense was probably ‘speak, utter’ rather than specifically ‘swear’. The "answer" nouns Old English andswaru and Old Norse andsvar preserve this broader semantic value Lühr 2024: s.v. swerienSeebold 1970: 480–82. The base ultimately continues Proto-Indo-European *swer-, with cognates including Sanskrit स्वरतिLühr 2024: s.v. swerien. Thus, *andaswarjaną meant approximately ‘speak in reply/opposition’ > ‘answer’, not necessarily ‘swear against’. The attested ‘answer’ verbs are weak, and Kroonen 2013: 496 suggests secondary denominative remodeling from the "answer" noun.