Swedish

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Connected with the country of Sweden or its citizens ; the language spoken primarily in Sweden and parts of Finland belonging to the North Germanic group
2. Pertaining to anything associated with Sweden, including culture and nationality ; a Germanic language used as the official tongue of Sweden and widely spoken in Finland
3. Of or relating to Sweden or its inhabitants ; a Scandinavian language used mainly in Sweden and recognized in some Finnish areas

Etymology: "Swedish" is about as transparent as English adjectives get. It is built from "Swede," the name for a native of Sweden, and the suffix "-ish," which in English means "belonging to or characteristic of" in forms like "Danish," "Irish" and "English." Put them together and you get "relating to Sweden," with no detour through another language. The word's roots run deeper in the Germanic family. Its counterparts in neighboring languages follow the same pattern: Dutch "Zweeds" and German "Schwedisch" are built on their own words for the Swedes. So the adjective is not an English invention but one of a shared set of Germanic formations for national and regional identity.