swarm

English

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (US)

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• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Rhymes: -ɔː(r)m

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English (deprecated template usage) swarm, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English (deprecated template usage) swearm, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *swarmaz (“swarm, dizziness”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to buzz, hum”). Cognate with (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Scots (deprecated template usage) swarm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Dutch (deprecated template usage) zwerm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German (deprecated template usage) Schwarm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Danish (deprecated template usage) sværm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Swedish (deprecated template usage) svärm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Icelandic (deprecated template usage) svarmur, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin (deprecated template usage) susurrus, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lithuanian (deprecated template usage) surma, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Russian (deprecated template usage) свирель (svirel').

Noun

swarm of locusts.

swarm (plural swarms)

1. A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
   • Milton

     a deadly swarm of hornets

2. A mass of people, animals or things in motion or turmoil.

   a swarm of meteorites

   • Addison

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

3. (computing) A group of nodes sharing the same torrent in a BitTorrent network.

Translations

large number of insects

• Armenian: պարս (hy) (pars)
• Belarusian: рой m (roj)
• Bulgarian: рой (bg) m (roj)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 群 (zh) (qún)

• Czech: roj m
• Danish: sværm (da) c
• Dutch: zwerm (nl)
• Finnish: parvi (fi)
• French: essaim (fr) m (flying insects), grouillement (fr) m (crawling insects)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Schwarm (de) m
• Greek: σμήνος (el) n (smínos)
• Hungarian: raj (hu)
• Italian: sciame (it) m, nugolo (it) m
• Japanese: 群れ (むれ, mure)
• Macedonian: рој m (roj)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: rój (pl) m
• Portuguese: enxame (pt) m, nuvem (pt) f (in flight), correição (pt) f (especially ants)
• Romanian: roi (ro)
• Russian: рой (ru) m (roj), стая (ru) f (stája)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgaoth m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: рој m

  Roman: roj m

• Slovak: roj m
• Slovene: roj (sl) m
• Spanish: enjambre (es)
• Swahili: jana (sw)
• Swedish: svärm c
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: рій m (rij)
• Volapük: (bees) kümam (vo)

a mass of people or animals in turmoil

• Danish: sværm (da) c
• Dutch: menigte (nl), massa (nl)
• Finnish: lauma (fi)
• French: nuée (fr) f, essaim (fr) m
• German: Schwarm (de) m
• Greek: στίφος (el) n (stífos), εσμός (el) m (esmós), (people) όχλος (el) m (óchlos)
• Hungarian: horda (hu), sokaság (hu)
• Japanese: 群衆 (ぐんしゅう, gunshū)
• Polish: mrowie (pl) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: multidão (pt) f, enxame (pt) m, turba (pt) f, turbamulta f, turbilhão m, tropel (pt) m, roda-viva f, barafunda (pt) f
• Russian: толпа (ru) f (tolpá)
• Scottish Gaelic: (animals) sgaoth m, (people) sluagh m
• Spanish: multitud (es), muchedumbre (es), masa (es), aglomeración
• Swahili: jana (sw)
• Ukrainian: натовп m (nátovp), юрба (uk) f (jurbá)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 云集 (yúnjí), ^{(please verify)} 蜂拥 (fēngyōng), ^{(please verify)} 成群移动 (chéng qún yídòng), ^{(please verify)} (昆虫)群 (kūnchóng qún)
• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} luzmë f
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} ჯგუფი (ǯgupi)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} roj m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sciame m
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} roi, ^{(please verify)} stol m or f

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English (deprecated template usage) swarmen, (deprecated template usage) swermen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English (deprecated template usage) swierman, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *swarmijaną (“to swarm”). Cognate with (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Scots (deprecated template usage) swairm, (deprecated template usage) swerm, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Dutch (deprecated template usage) zwermen, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German (deprecated template usage) schwärmen, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Danish (deprecated template usage) sværme, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Swedish (deprecated template usage) svärma.

Verb

swarm (third-person singular simple present swarms, present participle swarming, simple past and past participle swarmed)

1. (intransitive) To move as a swarm.
2. (intransitive) To teem, or be overrun with insects, people, etc.
   • Spenser

     Every place swarms with soldiers.

3. (transitive) To fill a place as a swarm.
4. (transitive) To overwhelm as by an opposing army.
5. To climb by gripping with arms and legs alternately.
   • W. Coxe

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

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 55

     She called out, and a boy came running along. He swarmed up a tree, and presently threw down a ripe nut. Ata pierced a hole in it, and the doctor took a long, refreshing draught.

6. To breed multitudes.
   • Milton

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

Translations

to move as a swarm

• Finnish: vyöryä
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: pullulare (it)

to teem, or be overrun with insects

• Hungarian: hemzseg (hu)
• Italian: pullulare (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: rearea, ngahua, ngahue
• Ukrainian: кишіти (kyšíty)

to fill a place as a swarm

• Finnish: vyöryä sisään
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: ngahua, ngahue, rearea

to overwhelm

• Finnish: vyöryttää
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to climb by gripping with arms and legs

• Finnish: kiivetä (fi) nelinkontin
• Hungarian: mászik (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: карабкаться (ru) n or impf (karábkatʼsja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} grouiller, ^{(please verify)} pulluler
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} enjambrar (es)
• Portuguese: ^{(please verify)} formigar, ^{(please verify)} pulular (pt), ^{(please verify)} apinhar (pt), ^{(please verify)} enxamear, ^{(please verify)} infestar (pt), ^{(please verify)} encher (pt)

See also

• Appendix:English collective nouns

Anagrams

• warms