232 KINDRED GROUP-MARRIAGE 



geswirja for sister's son. We may also note Anglo- 

 Saxon suhterja, brother's son, nephew, and suhtorftidera, 

 parents-in-law, possibly for svihtorja and svihtorfddera, 

 and so connected with the root of swehor. 1 



Now, whether the series of words in the last para- 

 graph has arisen from a primitive sweh or svih, or has an 

 origin independent of the svekr series, it is very difficult 

 to believe in the face of such widely extended meanings 

 as these words certainly have in early Teutonic dialects, 

 that the whole terminology for relations-in-law should 

 have arisen as derivatives of the term for father-in- 

 law. 



(ii.) The use of the svekr terms in Lithuanian, in 

 Eussian, 2 and other Slavonic tongues for the husband's 

 relatives points, so far as it goes, to the husband as the 

 source of the svekr terminology, and this is supported 

 by such a word as geschwagert for any connection by 

 marriage, and by its limited and comparatively late use 

 for son-in-law. The general weight of the svekr terms 

 in the Teutonic dialects certainly seems to bear the 

 impress of a word used for intimacy and familiarity on 

 the same level, and accordingly, if the origin of the word 

 is to be sought in sva, own, proper, intimate, familiar, I 

 believe it must be in the relationship of brothers- and 

 sisters-in-law. It is also true that sva, or its fuller 

 form svas, peculiar, dear, 3 does lead to many terms for 



1 Hindustanee sds, mother-in-law, susra, father-in-law, may be connected 

 with the sve root, but doubtfully with svekr. The female is here the primitive. 



2 In Russian svojacJc = schwager, svekoru = wife's father-in-law, svekrovi, wife's 

 mother-in-law. 



3 Compare Gothic sves, own, property. Then we have Aryan svedho, to ' self, ' 

 to become use to ; the sved co-radicates meaning good, sweet, nice, the suavaum, 

 consuesco ideas, and lastly the Ftdos, Gothic sidus, German sitte, ' wont ' notions. 



