swell
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-Germanic *swellanan (“to swell”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Dutch zwellen (“to swell”), German schwellen (“to swell”), Swedish svälla (“to swell”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
swell (usually not comparable; nonstandard comparative sweller, superlative swellest)
[edit] Translations
excellent
[edit] Noun
swell (plural swells)
- A long series of ocean waves, generally produced by wind, and lasting after the wind has ceased.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. 24:
- There was a great, smooth swell upon the sea.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. 24:
- (music) A gradual crescendo followed by diminuendo.
- (music) A device for controlling the volume of a pipe organ.
- (music) A division in a pipe organ, usually the largest enclosed division.
- A hillock or similar raised area of terrain.
- 1909, Joseph A. Altsheler, The Last of the Chiefs, ch. 2:
- Off on the crest of a swell a moving figure was seen now and then. "Antelope," said the hunters.
- 1909, Joseph A. Altsheler, The Last of the Chiefs, ch. 2:
- (informal) A person who is dressed in a fancy or elegant manner.
- circa 1850, William Makepeace Thackeray, "The Kickleburys on the Rhine" in The Christmas Books of Mr. M. A. Titmarsh:
- It costs him no more to wear all his ornaments about his distinguished person than to leave them at home. If you can be a swell at a cheap rate, why not?
- 1887, Horatio Alger, The Cash Boy, ch. 9:
- He was dressed in a flashy style, not unlike what is popularly denominated a swell.
- circa 1850, William Makepeace Thackeray, "The Kickleburys on the Rhine" in The Christmas Books of Mr. M. A. Titmarsh:
- (informal) A person of high social standing; an important person.
- 1864, Anthony Trollope, The Small House at Allington, ch. 2:
- "I am not in Mr Crosbie's confidence. He is in the General Committee Office, I know; and, I believe, has pretty nearly the management of the whole of it." . . .
- "I'll tell you what he is, Bell; Mr Crosbie is a swell." And Lilian Dale was right; Mr Crosbie was a swell.
- 1906, Gilbert Parker, The Trespasser, ch. 8:
- You buy a lot of Indian or halfbreed loafers with beaver-skins and rum, go to the Mount of the Burning Arrows, and these fellows dance round you and call you one of the lost race, the Mighty Men of the Kimash Hills. And they'll do that while the rum lasts. Meanwhile you get to think yourself a devil of a swell—you and the gods!
- 1864, Anthony Trollope, The Small House at Allington, ch. 2:
[edit] Synonyms
- (person dressed in a fancy or elegant manner): dandy, dude, toff
- (person of high social standing): toff
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
series of waves
[edit] Verb
swell (third-person singular simple present swells, present participle swelling, simple past swelled, past participle swollen or swelled)
- (intransitive) To become bigger, especially due to being engorged.
- (transitive) To cause to become bigger.
[edit] Translations
intransitive: to become bigger, especially due to being engorged
