different between sweet vs good

English

Etymology

From Middle English sweete, swete, from Old English sw?te (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *sw?t?, from Proto-Germanic *sw?tuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh?dus (“sweet”).

Cognate and synonymous with Scots sweit, North Frisian sweete, West Frisian swiet, Low German sööt, Dutch zoet, German süß, Danish sød, Swedish söt, Norwegian søt, Latin su?vis, Sanskrit ?????? (sv?dú), Ancient Greek ???? (h?dús). Doublet of suave.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /swi?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /swit/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /swi?t/
• Rhymes: -i?t
• Homophone: suite

Adjective

sweet (comparative sweeter, superlative sweetest)

1. Having a pleasant taste, especially one relating to the basic taste sensation induced by sugar.

2. Having a taste of sugar.
   • 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, Wired, "The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel":

     A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.

3. (wine) Retaining a portion of sugar.

4. Not having a salty taste.

5. Having a pleasant smell.
   • 1838, Longfellow, "Voices of the Night: The Reaper and the Flowers":

     The breath of these flowers is sweet to me.

6. Not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale.

7. Having a pleasant sound.
   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Scarlet Letter, Ticknor and Fields, page 135:

     a voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful

8. Having a pleasing disposition.

9. Having a helpful disposition.

10. (mineralogy) Free from excessive unwanted substances like acid or sulphur.

11. (informal) Very pleasing; agreeable.
    • 14 November 2014, Steven Haliday, Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero

      GORDON Strachan enjoyed the sweetest of his 16 matches in charge of Scotland so far as his team enhanced their prospects of Euro 2016 qualification with a crucial and deserved victory over Republic of Ireland.

12. (slang) Doing well; in a good or happy position.
13. (informal, followed by on) Romantically fixated, enamoured with, fond of

    The attraction was mutual and instant; they were sweet on one another from first sight.

14. (obsolete) Fresh; not salt or brackish.
    • 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or A Natural History, in The Works of Francis Bacon (1826), page 66

      The white of an egg, or blood mingled with salt water, doth gather the saltness and maketh the water sweeter; this may be by adhesion.
15. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair.
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise lost (source), Samuel Simmons, page 278:

      Sweet interchange / Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains.

Synonyms

• (having a taste of sugar): saccharine, sugary
• (containing a sweetening ingredient): sugared, sweetened
• (not having a salty taste): fresh, unsalty
• (having a pleasant smell): fragrant, odoriferous, odorous, perfumed, scented, sweet-scented, sweet-smelling
• (not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale): fresh, unfermented, wholesome
• (having a pleasant sound): dulcet, honeyed, mellifluous, mellisonant
• (having a pleasing disposition): cute, lovable, pleasant
• (having a helpful disposition): kind, gracious, helpful, sensitive, thoughtful
• ((informal) very pleasing): rad, awesome, wicked

Antonyms

• (having a pleasant taste): bitter, sour, salty
• (containing a sweetening ingredient): nonsweet, sugarless, unsugared, unsweetened, unsweet
• (of wines: retaining a portion of natural sugar): dry
• (not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale): decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, stale
• (not having a salty taste): salty, savoury
• (free from excessive unwanted substances): sour
• ((informal) very pleasing): lame, uncool

Derived terms

Translations

See sweet/translations § Adjective.

Interjection

sweet

1. Used as a positive response to good news or information.

   They're making a sequel? Ah, sweet!

Adverb

sweet (comparative more sweet, superlative most sweet)

1. In a sweet manner.
   • 1598, Shakespeare, Love's Labour Lost, Act 1 Scene 1:

     "and, sweet my child, let them be men of good repute and carriage."

     (and, my child, allow them sweetly to be men with good reputations and conduct)

Synonyms

• (in a sweet manner): sweetly

Translations

Noun

sweet (countable and uncountable, plural sweets)

1. (uncountable) The basic taste sensation induced by sugar.
2. (countable, Britain) A confection made from sugar, or high in sugar content; a candy.
3. (countable, Britain) A food eaten for dessert.

   Can we see the sweet menu, please?

4. Sweetheart; darling.

   • Wherefore frowns my sweet?

5. (obsolete) That which is sweet or pleasant in odour; a perfume.
6. (obsolete) Sweetness, delight; something pleasant to the mind or senses.
   • 1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, III.2:

     Fear's fire to fervency, which makes love's sweet prove nectar.

Synonyms

• (sweet taste sensation): See sweetness
• (food that is high in sugar content): bonbon, candy (US), confection, confectionery, lolly (Australia)
• (food eaten for dessert): See dessert

Derived terms

• spoon sweet
• sweet shop / sweetshop

Translations

Verb

sweet (third-person singular simple present sweets, present participle sweeting, simple past and past participle sweeted)

1. (obsolete or poetic) To sweeten.

Anagrams

• weest, weets

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sv???t/

Etymology 1

From Dutch zweet, from Middle Dutch sweet, from Old Dutch *sweit, *sw?t, from Proto-Germanic *swait-, from Proto-Indo-European *sweyd-.

Noun

sweet (uncountable)

1. sweat

Etymology 2

From Dutch zweten, from Middle Dutch swêten.

Verb

sweet (present sweet, present participle swetende, past participle gesweet)

1. to sweat

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *sw?t, from Proto-Germanic *swait-.

Noun

swêet n

1. sweat, perspiration

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

• sweit

Derived terms

• swêten

Descendants

• Dutch: zweet
• Limburgish: zweit

Further reading

• “sweet”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “sweet”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: go?od, IPA^(key): /??d/
• (General American) IPA^(key): [???d], [???d]
• (AAVE) enPR: go?o(d), IPA^(key): /??(d)/
• Rhymes: -?d

Etymology 1

From Middle English good, from Old English g?d, from Proto-West Germanic *g?d, from Proto-Germanic *g?daz, from Proto-Indo-European *g?ed?- (“to unite, be associated, suit”). Cognate with Russian ??????? (gódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”), ??? (god), "year", via "suitable time". Not related to the word god.

Alternative forms

• g’d (poetic contraction)
• goode (obsolete)

Adjective

good (comparative better, superlative best)

1. (of people)
   1. Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral.
      • 1460-1500, The Towneley Plays?

        It is not good to be alone, to walk here in this worthly wone.

      • 1500?, Evil Tongues?

        If any man would begin his sins to reny, or any good people that frae vice deed rest ain. What so ever he were that to virtue would apply, But an ill tongue will all overthrow again.

      • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ch.6

        When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.

   2. Competent or talented.
      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

        And Marsha says I am a good cook!

   3. Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit; used with for.

   4. Well-behaved (especially of children or animals).

   5. (US) Satisfied or at ease

   6. (archaic) Of high rank or birth.
2. (of capabilities)
   1. Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
      • 1526, Herball?

        Against cough and scarceness of breath caused of cold take the drink that it hath been sodden in with Liquorice[,] or that the powder hath been sodden in with dry figs[,] for the same the electuary called dyacalamentum is good[,] and it is made thus.
   2. Effective.

      • There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

   3. (obsolete) Real; actual; serious.

      • Love no man in good earnest.

3. (properties and qualities)
   1. (of food)
      1. Edible; not stale or rotten.

      2. Having a particularly pleasant taste.
         • c. 1430 (reprinted 1888), Thomas Austin, ed., Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: N. Trübner & Co. for the Early English Text Society, volume I, OCLC 374760, page 11:

           Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke […] caste þher-to Safroun an Salt […]

         • 1962 (quoting 1381 text), Hans Kurath & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-01044-8, page 1242:

           dorr??, d?r? adj. & n. […] cook. glazed with a yellow substance; pome(s ~, sopes ~. […] 1381 Pegge Cook. Recipes page 114: For to make Soupys dorry. Nym onyons […] Nym wyn […] toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and god Almande mylk.

      3. Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.

   2. Healthful.

   3. Pleasant; enjoyable.

   4. Favourable.

   5. Unblemished; honourable.

   6. Beneficial; worthwhile.
   7. Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.

      • My reasons are both good and weighty.
4. (colloquial, when with and) Very, extremely. See good and.

5. Holy (especially when capitalized) .

6. (of quantities)
   1. Reasonable in amount.

   2. Large in amount or size.

      • The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them, […].

   3. Full; entire; at least as much as.

Usage notes

The comparative gooder and superlative goodest are nonstandard.In informal (often jocular) contexts, best may be inflected further and given the comparative bester and the superlative bestest; these forms are also nonstandard.

Synonyms

• (having positive attributes): not bad, all right, satisfactory, decent, see also Thesaurus:good
• (healthful): well
• (competent or talented): accomplished
• (acting in the interest of good; ethical): See Thesaurus:goodness

Antonyms

• (having positive attributes): bad, poor
• (ethical): bad, evil

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

good

1. That is good; an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.

   Good! I can leave now.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English goode (“good, well”, adverb), from the adjective. Compare Dutch goed (“good, well”, adverb), German gut (“good, well”, adverb), Danish godt (“good, well”, adverb), Swedish godt (“good, well”, adverb), all from the adjective.

Adverb

good (comparative better, superlative best)

1. (nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.

   The boy done good. (did well)

   • 2007 April 19, Jimmy Wales, “Jimmy Wales on the User-Generated Generation”, Fresh Air, WHYY, Pennsylvania [1]

     The one thing that we can't do...is throw out the baby with the bathwater.... We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this...high-quality website.

Derived terms

• but good
• a good many

Etymology 3

From Middle English good, god, from Old English g?d (“a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good, goodness, welfare; virtue, ability, doughtiness; goods, property, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *g?d? (“goods, belongings”), from Proto-Indo-European *g?ed?-, *g?od?- (“to unite, be associated, suit”). Compare German Gut (“item of merchandise; estate; property”).

Noun

good (countable and uncountable, plural goods)

1. (uncountable) The forces or behaviours that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.

   Antonyms: bad, evil

2. (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.

   Antonym: bad

3. (uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.

   He is an influence for good on those girls.

   • There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

   • 1788, John Jay, The Federalist Papers No. 64:

     […] the government must be a weak one indeed, if it should forget that the good of the whole can only be promoted by advancing the good of each of the parts or members which compose the whole.

4. (countable, usually in the plural) An item of merchandise.

   • Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.

Derived terms

• (item of merchandise): capital goods, consumer goods

Translations

Etymology 4

From Middle English goden, godien, from Old English g?dian (“to improve, get better; make better; endow, enrich”), from Proto-West Germanic *g?d?n (“to make better, improve”), from Proto-Germanic *g?daz (“good, favourable”).

Verb

good (third-person singular simple present goods, present participle gooding, simple past and past participle gooded)

1. (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
2. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To make good; turn to good; improve.
3. (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To make improvements or repairs.
4. (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To benefit; gain.
5. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
6. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
7. (reflexive, now chiefly dialectal) To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.

Derived terms

• gooding

Etymology 5

From English dialectal, from Middle English *goden, of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish göda (“to fatten, fertilise, battle”), Danish gøde (“to fertilise, battle”), ultimately from the adjective. See above.

Verb

good (third-person singular simple present goods, present participle gooding, simple past and past participle gooded)

1. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal, Scotland) To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.
   • April 5 1628, Bishop Joseph Hall, The Blessings, Sins, and Judgments of God's Vineyard

     Nature was like itself , in it , in the world : God hath taken it in from the barren downs , and gooded it : his choice did not find , but make it thus

Derived terms

• goodening

Further reading

• good at OneLook Dictionary Search
• good in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• good in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Dutch Low Saxon

Adjective

good

1. good

Limburgish

Etymology

From Middle Dutch goet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?o??d], [?o??t]

Adjective

good (comparative baeter, superlative bès, predicative superlative 't 't bès)

1. good

Inflection

Middle English

Alternative forms

• god

Etymology

From Old English g?d.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?o?d/
• Rhymes: -o?d

Adjective

good (plural and weak singular goode, comparative bettre, superlative best)

1. good (of good quality or behaviour)
2. good (morally right or righteous)
   • 14th c., Chaucer, General Prologue:

3. advantageous, wealthy, profitable, useful
4. large; of a great size or quantity
5. Having a great degree or extent.

Descendants

• English: good
• Scots: guid
• Yola: gooude, gayde

References

• “g??d, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.