swien
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See also: Swien
Middle English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old English swigian.
Verb[edit]
swīen
- to be silent, to refrain from speaking or making sound
Usage notes[edit]
- Not to be confused with sweien (“make a sound”), with which it was homophonous by the 13th century.[1]
Alternative forms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Edna Rees Williams, The Conflict of Homonyms in English (1944), page 100