swan
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /swɒn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /swɑn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒn
Etymology 1[edit]
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[edit]
swan (plural swans or swan)
- Any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus (bird family: Anatidae), most of which have white plumage.
- (figuratively) One whose grace etc. suggests a swan.
- (heraldry) This bird used as a heraldic charge, sometimes with a crown around its neck (e. g. the arms of Buckinghamshire).
Derived terms[edit]
- Bewick's swan (Cygnus bewickii)
- black-necked swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)
- black swan (Cygnus atratus))
- graceful as a swan
- mute swan (Cygnus olor)
- Swan
- swan boat
- swan dive
- swan goose (Anser cygnoides)
- swan grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
- swanherd
- Swan Lake
- swan-like
- swanlike
- swan-likeness
- swanliness
- swanling
- swanly
- swan maiden
- swan moth (Euproctis similis)
- swan mussel (Anodonta cygnea)
- Swan Nebula
- swan-neck
- swan neck deformity
- swan-necked
- swan-necked grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
- swannery
- swanness
- swannish
- swannishness
- swan plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus)
- swan’s
- swans’
- swansdown
- swanskin
- swan’s neck
- swansong
- swan song
- trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)
- tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus)
- whistling swan (Cygnus columbianus)
- White Swan
- whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus)
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
- cob (adult male)
- cygnet (epicene, young)
- lamentation
- pen (adult female)
Verb[edit]
swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)
- (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.
- 2010, Lee Rourke, The Canal, Melville House Publishing (2010), →ISBN, unnumbered page:
Usage notes[edit]
- In the sense “to travel”, usually used as part of the phrase “to swan about” or “to swan around”.
Etymology 2[edit]
Probably from dialectal I s’wan, contraction of “I shall warrant”; later seen as a minced form of I swear.
Alternative forms[edit]
Verb[edit]
swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)
- (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.
- 1907 December, J. D. Archer, Foiling an eavesdropper, in Telephony, volume 14, page 345:
Anagrams[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old English swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz.
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
swan (plural swannes)
- swan (A bird that is part of the genus Cygnus)
- The meat of a a swan.
- (heraldry) A swan as a heraldic symbol.
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “swan (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-11.
Etymology 2[edit]
From Old English swān.
Noun[edit]
swan
- Alternative form of swon
Old English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
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[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
swan m
Declension[edit]
Synonyms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *swainaz, whence also Old High German swein, Old Norse sveinn, English swain (through Old Norse).
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
swān m
Descendants[edit]
West Frisian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
swan c
- English 1-syllable words
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- English terms derived from Old English
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- en:Heraldic charges
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- fy:Anatids