swidden
English
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swidden
- /ˈswɪdn̩/
Rhymes with -ɪdən
Where it comes from
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.
noun swiddens
- An area of land that has been cleared by cutting the vegetation and burning it; slash and burn. Kamiali Village is a community of swidden horticulturists and fishers lying 80 kilometers in a south-southeasterly direction along the coast from the City of Lae, Papua New Guinea.
verb swiddens · swiddening · swiddened
- To clear an area of land by cutting and burning. The reason, Scott says, is that swiddening provides a freedom that fixed agriculture does not.
Translations
Talk about this word "swidden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swidden. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. swidden. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swidden "swidden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swidden.Cite this
@misc{swidden_2026,
title = {swidden},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swidden},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
