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Etymology

The name for Sweden is generally agreed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root * s(w)e, meaning "one's own", referring to one's own tribe from the tribal period. The native Swedish name, Sverige (a compound of the words Svea and rike, first recorded in the cognate Swēorice in Beowulf), translates as "realm of the Swedes ", which excluded the Geats in Götaland.

The contemporary English variation was derived in the 17th century from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German. As early as 1287, references are found in Middle Dutch referring to a lande van sweden ("land of Swedes"), with swede as the singular form. In Old English the country was known as Swéoland or Swíoríce, and in Early Modern English as Swedeland. Some Finnic languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, use the terms Ruotsi and Rootsi; these variations refer to the Rus' people who inhabited the coastal areas of Roslagen in Uppland and who gave their name to Russia.