swan

See also: Swan

English

A swan.

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English swan, from Old English swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz. Cognate with West Frisian swan, Low German Swaan, swan, Dutch zwaan, German Schwan, Norwegian svane, Swedish svan, probably literally “the singing bird”, from a Proto-Indo-European *swon-/*swen- (“to sing, make sound”). Related to Old English geswin (“melody, song”) and swinsian (“to make melody”). Compare Latin sonus (“sound”) and Russian звон (zvon, “ringing”) and звук (zvuk, “sound”).

Noun

swan (plural swans or swan)

  1. Any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus (bird family: Anatidae), most of which have white plumage.
  2. (figuratively) One whose grace etc. suggests a swan.
  3. (heraldry) This bird used as a heraldic charge, sometimes with a crown around its neck (e. g. the arms of Buckinghamshire).
Derived terms
Translations
See also

Verb

swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)

  1. (Britain, intransitive) To travel or move about in an aimless, idle, or pretentiously casual way.
    • 2010, Lee Rourke, The Canal, Melville House Publishing (2010), →ISBN, unnumbered page:
      He swans around that stinking office in his expensive clothes that are a little too tight for comfort, he swans around that stinking office without a care in the world.
    • 2013, Tilly Bagshawe, One Summer’s Afternoon, HarperCollins (2013), →ISBN, unnumbered page:
      One of the few strokes of good luck Emma had had in recent days was the news that Tatiana Flint-Hamilton, her only real rival for top billing as 'most photographable girl' at today's event had decided to swan off to Sardinia instead, leaving the limelight entirely to Emma.
Usage notes
  • In the sense “to travel”, usually used as part of the phrase “to swan about” or “to swan around”.

Etymology 2

Probably from dialectal I s’wan, contraction of “I shall warrant”; later seen as a minced form of I swear.

Alternative forms

Verb

swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)

  1. (US, dialectal or colloquial) To declare (chiefly in first-person present constructions).
    • 1907 December, J. D. Archer, Foiling an eavesdropper, in Telephony, volume 14, page 345:
      "Well, I swan, man, I had a better opinion of you than that."
    • 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, page 214:
      ‘She slammed the door so hard I figured a window'd break […] .’ ‘I swan,’ I said.

Anagrams

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /swan/

Noun

swan (plural swannes)

  1. swan (A bird that is part of the genus Cygnus)
  2. The meat of a a swan.
  3. (heraldry) A swan as a heraldic symbol.
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

From Old English swān.

Noun

swan

  1. Alternative form of swon

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *swanaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *swen- (“to sound, resound”). Compare Old Saxon swan (Low German Swaan), Dutch zwaan, Old High German swan (German Schwan), Old Norse svanr (Swedish svan).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈswɑn/

Noun

swan m

  1. swan
Declension

Synonyms

Descendants

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *swainaz, whence also Old High German swein, Old Norse sveinn, English swain (through Old Norse).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈswɑːn/

Noun

swān m

  1. man; warrior
  2. herdsman; herder
  3. servant
  4. boy; lad

Descendants

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz (“swan”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *swen- (“to sound, resound”). Compare English swan, Dutch zwaan, Low German Swaan, German Schwan, Swedish svan.

Noun

swan c

  1. swan
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.