swidden

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• /ˈswɪdn̩/
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• rhymes with -ɪdən
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Possibly from a dialectal form *swiden of Middle English swithen, past participle of Middle English swithen (“to burn, scorch, singe”), from Old Norse svíða (“to singe, burn”). Compare also Old Norse sviðinn (“burnt, singed”, past participle). Alternatively, from Old Norse sviðna (“to be burned”) or Old High German swedan (“to be burned”). Either way, probably ultimately from Proto-Germanic *swīþaną. First attested in 1868. If their respective theories align, then a distant cognate of German Schwyz, hence Swiss.

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Breton: devadur — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Catalan: artiga — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Czech: žďár — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Dutch: swidden — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Estonian: ale — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Finnish: kaski — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Finnish: kytö — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• French: brûlis — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Galician: cachada — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Galician: roza — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• German: Brandfeld — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• German: Schwende — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Italian: debbio — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Polish: cyrhla — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Spanish: artiga — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Swedish: sved — area cleared and burnt for cultivation
• Esperanto: brulsarki — Translations
• Finnish: kulottaa — Translations
• Polish: cyrhlić — Translations