swidden
/ˈswɪdn̩/noun, verb
swidden is spelled S-W-I-D-D-E-N: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, swidden means “An area of land that has been cleared by cutting the vegetation and burning it; slash and burn” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of swidden is swiddens.
How many letters and syllables are in swidden?
| Letters | 7: S-W-I-D-D-E-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 43 million words; the 201,693rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is swidden?
Swidden appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce swidden?
- /ˈswɪdn̩/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-swidden.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of swidden
- swiddens plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- swiddening participle, present
- swiddened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swidden mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An area of land that has been cleared by cutting the vegetation and burning it; slash and burn.
verb
- 1
To clear an area of land by cutting and burning.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swidden in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense area cleared and burnt for cultivation:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does swidden come 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).