Swallow noun [ Middle English swalowe , Anglo-Saxon swalewe , swealwe ; akin to Dutch zwaluw , Old High German swalawa , German schwalbe , Icelandic & Swedish svala , Danish svale .]
1. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of passerine birds of the family Hirundinidæ , especially one of those species in which the tail is deeply forked. They have long, pointed wings, and are noted for the swiftness and gracefulness of their flight.

» The most common North American species are the barn swallow (see under Barn ), the cliff, or eaves, swallow (see under Cliff ), the white-bellied, or tree, swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor ), and the bank swallow (see under Bank ). The common European swallow ( Chelidon rustica ), and the window swallow, or martin ( Chelidon urbica ), are familiar species.

2. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of swifts which resemble the true swallows in form and habits, as the common American chimney swallow, or swift.

3. (Nautical) The aperture in a block through which the rope reeves. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Swallow plover (Zoology) , any one of several species of fork-tailed ploverlike birds of the genus Glareola , as G. orientalis of India; a pratincole. -- Swallow shrike (Zoology) , any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic birds of the family Artamiidæ , allied to the shrikes but similar to swallows in appearance and habits. The ashy swallow shrike ( Artamus fuscus ) is common in India. -- Swallow warbler (Zoology) , any one of numerous species of East Indian and Australian singing birds of the genus Dicæum . They are allied to the honeysuckers.

Swallow transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Swallowed ; present participle & verbal noun Swallowing .] [ Middle English swolewen , swolwen , swolhen , Anglo-Saxon swelgan ; akin to Dutch zwelgen , Old High German swelahan , swelgan , German schwelgen to feast, to revel, Icelandic svelgia to swallow, SW. svälja , Danish svælge . Confer Groundsel a plant.]
1. To take into the stomach; to receive through the gullet, or esophagus, into the stomach; as, to swallow food or drink.

As if I had swallowed snowballs for pills.

Shak.

2. To draw into an abyss or gulf; to ingulf; to absorb -- usually followed by up . Milton.

The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses.

Num. xvi. 32.

3. To receive or embrace, as opinions or belief, without examination or scruple; to receive implicitly.

Though that story . . . be not so readily swallowed .

Sir T. Browne.

4. To engross; to appropriate; -- usually with up .

Homer excels . . . in this, that he swallowed up the honor of those who succeeded him.

Pope.

5. To occupy; to take up; to employ.

The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time.

Locke.

6. To seize and waste; to exhaust; to consume.

Corruption swallowed what the liberal hand
Of bounty scattered.

Thomson.

7. To retract; to recant; as, to swallow one's opinions. " Swallowed his vows whole." Shak.

8. To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation; as, to swallow an affront or insult.

Syn. -- To absorb; imbibe; ingulf; engross; consume. See Absorb .

Swallow intransitive verb To perform the act of swallowing; as, his cold is so severe he is unable to swallow .

Swallow noun
1. The act of swallowing.

2. The gullet, or esophagus; the throat.

3. Taste; relish; inclination; liking. [ Colloq.]

I have no swallow for it.

Massinger.

4. Capacity for swallowing; voracity.

There being nothing too gross for the swallow of political rancor.

Prof. Wilson.

5. As much as is, or can be, swallowed at once; as, a swallow of water.

6. That which ingulfs; a whirlpool. [ Obsolete] Fabyan.

Swallow-tailed adjective
1. Having a tail like that of a swallow; hence, like a swallow's tail in form; having narrow and tapering or pointed skirts; as, a swallow-tailed coat.

2. (Carp.) United by dovetailing; dovetailed.

Swallow-tailed duck (Zoology) , the old squaw. -- Swallow-tailed gull (Zoology) , an Arctic gull ( Xema furcata ), which has a deeply forked tail. -- Swallow-tailed hawk or kite (Zoology) , the fork- tailed kite. -- Swallow-tailed moth (Zoology) , a European moth ( Urapteryx sambucaria ) having tail-like lobes on the hind wings.

Swallower noun One who swallows; also, a glutton. Tatler.

Swallowfish noun (Zoology) The European sapphirine gurnard ( Trigla hirundo ). It has large pectoral fins.

Swallowtail noun
1. (Carp.) A kind of tenon or tongue used in making joints. See Dovetail .

2. (Botany) A species of willow.

3. (Fort.) An outwork with converging sides, its head or front forming a reëntrant angle; -- so called from its form. Called also priestcap .

4. A swallow-tailed coat.

This Stultz coat, a blue swallowtail , with yellow buttons.

Thackeray.

5. An arrow. Sir W. Scott.

6. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of large and handsome butterflies, belonging to Papilio and allied genera, in which the posterior border of each hind wing is prolongated in the form of a long lobe.

» The black swallowtail, or asterias (see Papilio ), the blue swallowtail, or philenor, the tiger swallowtail, or turnus (see Turnus ), and the zebra swallowtail, or ajax (see under Zebra ) are common American species. See also Troilus .

Swallowwort noun (Botany) (a) See Celandine . (b) A poisonous plant ( Vincetoxicum officinale ) of the Milkweed family, at one time used in medicine; -- also called white swallowwort .

African swallowwort , a plant of the genus Stapelia.

Swam imperfect of Swim .

Swamp noun [ Confer Anglo-Saxon swam a fungus, OD. swam a sponge, Dutch zwam a fungus, German schwamm a sponge, Icelandic svöppr , Dan. & Swedish swamp , Goth. swamms , Greek somfo`s porous, spongy.] Wet, spongy land; soft, low ground saturated with water, but not usually covered with it; marshy ground away from the seashore.

Gray swamps and pools, waste places of the hern.

Tennyson.

A swamp differs from a bog and a marsh in producing trees and shrubs, while the latter produce only herbage, plants, and mosses.

Farming Encyc. (E. Edwards, Words).

Swamp blackbird . (Zoology) See Redwing (b) . -- Swamp cabbage (Botany) , skunk cabbage. -- Swamp deer (Zoology) , an Asiatic deer ( Rucervus Duvaucelli ) of India. -- Swamp hen . (Zoology) (a) An Australian azure-breasted bird ( Porphyrio bellus ); -- called also goollema . (b) An Australian water crake, or rail ( Porzana Tabuensis ); -- called also little swamp hen . (c) The European purple gallinule. -- Swamp honeysuckle (Botany) , an American shrub ( Azalea, or Rhododendron, viscosa ) growing in swampy places, with fragrant flowers of a white color, or white tinged with rose; -- called also swamp pink . -- Swamp hook , a hook and chain used by lumbermen in handling logs. Confer Cant hook . -- Swamp itch . (Medicine) See Prairie itch , under Prairie . -- Swamp laurel (Botany) , a shrub ( Kalmia glauca ) having small leaves with the lower surface glaucous. -- Swamp maple (Botany) , red maple. See Maple . -- Swamp oak (Botany) , a name given to several kinds of oak which grow in swampy places, as swamp Spanish oak ( Quercus palustris ), swamp white oak ( Q. bicolor ), swamp post oak ( Q. lyrata ). -- Swamp ore (Min.) , bog ore; limonite. -- Swamp partridge (Zoology) , any one of several Australian game birds of the genera Synoicus and Excalfatoria , allied to the European partridges. -- Swamp robin (Zoology) , the chewink. -- Swamp sassafras (Botany) , a small North American tree of the genus Magnolia ( M. glauca ) with aromatic leaves and fragrant creamy-white blossoms; -- called also sweet bay . -- Swamp sparrow (Zoology) , a common North American sparrow ( Melospiza Georgiana , or M. palustris ), closely resembling the song sparrow. It lives in low, swampy places. -- Swamp willow . (Botany) See Pussy willow , under Pussy .

Swamp transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Swamped ; present participle & verbal noun Swamping .]
1. To plunge or sink into a swamp.

2. (Nautical) To cause (a boat) to become filled with water; to capsize or sink by whelming with water.

3. Fig.: To plunge into difficulties and perils; to overwhelm; to ruin; to wreck.

The Whig majority of the house of Lords was swamped by the creation of twelve Tory peers.

J. R. Green.

Having swamped himself in following the ignis fatuus of a theory.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Swamp intransitive verb
1. To sink or stick in a swamp; figuratively, to become involved in insuperable difficulties.

2. To become filled with water, as a boat; to founder; to capsize or sink; figuratively, to be ruined; to be wrecked.

Swampy adjective Consisting of swamp; like a swamp; low, wet, and spongy; as, swampy land.

Swan noun [ Anglo-Saxon swan ; akin to Dutch zwaan , Old High German swan , German schwan , Icelandic svanr , Swedish svan , Danish svane ; and perhaps to English sound something audible.]
1. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of large aquatic birds belonging to Cygnus , Olor , and allied genera of the subfamily Cygninæ . They have a large and strong beak and a long neck, and are noted for their graceful movements when swimming. Most of the northern species are white. In literature the swan was fabled to sing a melodious song, especially at the time of its death.

» The European white, or mute, swan ( Cygnus gibbus ), which is most commonly domesticated, bends its neck in an S-shaped curve. The whistling, or trumpeting, swans of the genus Olor do not bend the neck in an S-shaped curve, and are noted for their loud and sonorous cry, due to complex convolutions of the windpipe. To this genus belong the European whooper, or whistling swan ( Olor cygnus ), the American whistling swan ( O. Columbianus ), and the trumpeter swan ( O. buccinator ). The Australian black swan ( Chenopis atrata ) is dull black with white on the wings, and has the bill carmine, crossed with a white band. It is a very graceful species and is often domesticated. The South American black-necked swan ( Sthenelides melancorypha ) is a very beautiful and graceful species, entirely white, except the head and neck, which are dark velvety seal-brown. Its bill has a double bright rose-colored knob.

2. Fig.: An appellation for a sweet singer, or a poet noted for grace and melody; as Shakespeare is called the swan of Avon.

3. (Astron.) The constellation Cygnus.

Swan goose (Zoology) , a bird of India ( Cygnopsis cygnoides ) resembling both the swan and the goose. -- Swan shot , a large size of shot used in fowling.

Swan-hopping noun A corruption of Swan-upping . [ Eng.] Encyc. Brit.

Swan-upping noun A yearly expedition on the Thames to take up young swans and mark them, as by Companies of Dyers and Vintners; -- called also swan- hopping . [ Eng.] Encyc. Brit.

Swan's-down, Swans-down noun
1. The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress.

2. A fine, soft, thick cloth of wool mixed with silk or cotton; a sort of twilled fustian, like moleskin.

Swan's-down cotton . See Cotton flannel , under Cotton .

Swang obsolete imperfect of Swing .

Swang noun [ Confer Swamp .] A swamp. [ Prov. Eng.]

Swanherd noun One who tends or marks swans; as, the royal swanherd of England.

Swanimote noun (Eng. Forest Law) See Swainmote .

Swankie, Swanky noun [ Confer German schwank flexible, pliant.] An active and clever young fellow. [ Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Swanlike adjective Resembling a swan.

Swanmark noun A mark of ownership cut on the bill or swan. [ Eng.] Encyc. Brit.

Swannery noun A place where swans are bred. "The largest swannery in England." Encyc. Brit.

Swanny adjective Swanlike; as, a swanny glossiness of the neck. Richardson.

Swanpan noun [ Confer Schwanpan .] The Chinese abacus; a schwanpan. S. W. Williams.

Swanskin noun
1. The act of a swan with the down or the feathers on.

2. A species of soft flannel, thick and warm.

Swap transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Swapped ; present participle & verbal noun Swapping .] [ Middle English swappen to strike; confer E. to strike a bargain; perhaps akin to English sweep . Confer Swap a blow, Swap , intransitive verb ] [ Written also swop .]
1. To strike; -- with off . [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] " Swap off his head!" Chaucer.

2. To exchange (usually two things of the same kind); to swop. [ Colloq.] Miss Edgeworth.

Swap intransitive verb [ Confer Swap , transitive verb ]
1. To fall or descend; to rush hastily or violently. C. Richardson (Dict.).

All suddenly she swapt adown to ground.

Chaucer.

2. To beat the air, or ply the wings, with a sweeping motion or noise; to flap.

Swap noun [ Confer German schwapp , noun , a slap, swap, schwapp , schwapps , interj., slap! smack! and English swap , v.t.]
1. A blow; a stroke. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.]

2. An exchange; a barter. [ Colloq.] Sir W. Scott.

Swap adverb [ See Swap , noun ] Hastily. [ Prov. Eng.]

Swape noun See Sweep , noun , 12.

Sward noun [ Anglo-Saxon sweard skin, covering; akin to OFries. swarge , Dutch zwoord , German schwarte , Icelandic svör...r skin, sward of the earth.]
1. Skin; covering. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

2. The grassy surface of land; that part of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass; turf.

The sward was trim as any garden lawn.

Tennyson.

Sward pork , bacon in large fitches. [ Prov. Eng.]

Sward transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Swarded ; present participle & verbal noun Swarding .] To produce sward upon; to cover, or be covered, with sward. Mortimer.

Sward-cutter noun (a) A plow for turning up grass land. (b) A lawn mower.

Swarded adjective Covered with sward. Mrs. Browning.

Swardy adjective Covered with sward or grass.

Sware imperfect of Swear . [ Obsolete or Poetic]

Cophetua sware a royal oath.

Tennyson.

Swarf intransitive verb [ Confer Swerve .] To grow languid; to faint. [ Scot.] "To swarf for very hunger." Sir W. Scott.

Swarf noun [ Confer Swerve .] The grit worn away from grindstones in grinding cutlery wet. [ Prov. Eng.]

Swarm intransitive verb [ Confer Swerve .] To climb a tree, pole, or the like, by embracing it with the arms and legs alternately. See Shin . [ Colloq.]

At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it.

W. Coxe.

Swarm noun [ Middle English swarm , Anglo-Saxon swearm ; akin to Dutch zwerm , German schwarm , Old High German swaram , Icelandic svarmr a tumult, Swedish svärm a swarm, Danish sværm , and German schwirren to whiz, to buzz, Sanskrit svar to sound, and perhaps to English swear . √177. Confer Swerve , Swirl .]
1. A large number or mass of small animals or insects, especially when in motion. "A deadly swarm of hornets." Milton.

2. Especially, a great number of honeybees which emigrate from a hive at once, and seek new lodgings under the direction of a queen; a like body of bees settled permanently in a hive. "A swarm of bees." Chaucer.

3. Hence, any great number or multitude, as of people in motion, or sometimes of inanimate objects; as, a swarm of meteorites.

Those prodigious swarms that had settled themselves in every part of it [ Italy].

Addison.

Syn. -- Multitude; crowd; throng.

Swarm intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Swarmed ; present participle & verbal noun Swarming .]
1. To collect, and depart from a hive by flight in a body; -- said of bees; as, bees swarm in warm, clear days in summer.

2. To appear or collect in a crowd; to throng together; to congregate in a multitude. Chaucer.

3. To be crowded; to be thronged with a multitude of beings in motion.

Every place swarms with soldiers.

Spenser.

4. To abound; to be filled (with). Atterbury.

5. To breed multitudes.

Not so thick swarmed once the soil
Bedropped with blood of Gorgon.

Milton.

Swarm transitive verb To crowd or throng. Fanshawe.

Swarmspore noun
1. (Botany) One of innumerable minute, motile, reproductive bodies, produced asexually by certain algæ and fungi; a zoöspore.

2. (Zoology) One of the minute flagellate germs produced by the sporulation of a protozoan; -- called also zoöspore .

Swart noun Sward. [ Obsolete] Holinshed.

Swart adjective [ Middle English swart , Anglo-Saxon sweart black; akin to OFries, Old Saxon & LG. swart , Dutch zwart , German schwartz , Old High German swarz , Icelandic svarir , Swedish svart , Danish sort , Goth. swarts ; confer Latin sordes dirt, sordere to be dirty. Confer Sordid , Surd .]
1. Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny. " Swart attendants." Trench. " Swart savage maids." Hawthorne.

A nation strange, with visage swart .

Spenser.

2. Gloomy; malignant. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Swart star , the Dog Star; -- so called from its appearing during the hot weather of summer, which makes swart the countenance. [ R.] Milton.

Swart transitive verb To make swart or tawny; as, to swart a living part. Sir T. Browne.

Swartback noun (Zoology) The black-backed gull ( Larus marinus ); -- called also swarbie . [ Prov. Eng.]