سبحانه وتعالى
Subḥānahu wa taʿālā
Glory be to Him and may He be exalted: said after the name of God, and abbreviated SWT in English texts.
What it means
The phrase joins two verbs of exaltation. Subḥānahu declares God free of every fault, and wa taʿālā adds that He is high above all things. Muslims say it, or write it, after the name of God, as in “Allah subḥānahu wa taʿālā”. Faruqi notes that it may be said on all occasions. Its two parts appear together in the Quran: “Glory be to Him, and exalted is He above what they associate with Him” (6:100; also 16:1). In English texts it is often abbreviated to SWT. Faruqi’s approach is to keep the Arabic in full and to gloss it, since an abbreviation hides the fact that the words are an expression of reverence.
Often misunderstood as
The abbreviation SWT looks like a mere label, but the full Arabic is a prayer that exalts God above any limit or comparison.
What the sources say
Scholars of language note that taʿālā is a verb of high rank and that the Quran reserves it for God when it speaks of exaltation above partners and likenesses (7:190, 27:63). Recording the phrase after His name is regarded as a mark of respect, though not a fixed duty.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 56, listed as SUBḤANAHU WA TA‘ĀLĀ. (SWT). The definition is restated here.