swing

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See also: Swing

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈswɪŋ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (AU):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English swingen, from Old English swingan, from Proto-Germanic *swinganą (compare Low German swingen, German schwingen, Dutch zwingen, Swedish svinga), from Proto-Indo-European *su̯eng- (compare Scottish Gaelic seang (“thin”)). Related to swink.

Verb

swing (third-person singular simple present swings, present participle swinging, simple past swung or (archaic or dialectal) swang, past participle swung or (archaic) swungen)

  1. (intransitive) To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.
    The plant swung in the breeze.
    • 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 12
      With one accord the tribe swung rapidly toward the frightened cries, and there found Terkoz holding an old female by the hair and beating her unmercifully with his great hands.
    • 2012 February 29, Troy Denning, Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse‎[1], Random House, →ISBN, page 3:
      The starliner swung into orbit around the planet Coruscant, and beyond the observation bubble appeared a glittering expanse of a billion golden lights. Through a thousand centuries of strife, those lights continued to shine.
  2. (intransitive) To dance.
  3. (intransitive) To ride on a swing.
    The children laughed as they swung.
  4. (intransitive) To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wife-swapping.
  5. (intransitive) To hang from the gallows.
    • 1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Red-Headed League:
      “It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!”
      Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts.
  6. (intransitive, cricket, of a ball) to move sideways in its trajectory.
  7. (intransitive) To fluctuate or change.
    It wasn't long before the crowd's mood swung towards restless irritability.
  8. (transitive) To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave.
    He swung his sword as hard as he could.
  9. (transitive) To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election.
  10. (transitive) To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially.
    If it’s not too expensive, I think we can swing it.
  11. (transitive, music) To play notes that are in pairs by making the first of the pair slightly longer than written (augmentation) and the second shorter, resulting in a bouncy, uneven rhythm.
  12. (transitive, cricket) (of a bowler) to make the ball move sideways in its trajectory.
  13. (transitive and intransitive, boxing) To move one's arm in a punching motion.
  14. (transitive) In dancing, to turn around in a small circle with one's partner, holding hands or arms.
    "to swing one's partner", or simply "to swing"
  15. (transitive, engineering) To admit or turn something for the purpose of shaping it; said of a lathe.
    The lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.
  16. (transitive, carpentry) To put (a door, gate, etc.) on hinges so that it can swing or turn.
  17. (nautical) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor.
    A ship swings with the tide.
Troponyms
  • (to rotate about an off-centre fixed point): pivot, swivel
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2

From the above verb.

Noun

swing (countable and uncountable, plural swings)

  1. The manner in which something is swung.
    He worked tirelessly to improve his golf swing.
    Door swing indicates direction the door opens.
    the swing of a pendulum
  2. The sweep or compass of a swinging body.
  3. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing.
  5. A hanging seat in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.
  6. A dance style.
  7. (music) The genre of music associated with this dance style.
  8. The amount of change towards or away from something.
    1. (politics) In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party.
      The polls showed a wide swing to Labour.
  9. (cricket) Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air.
  10. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.
  11. In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles.
  12. A basic dance step in which a pair link hands and turn round together in a circle.
  13. (obsolete) Free course; unrestrained liberty.
    • (Can we date this quote by John Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Take thy swing.
    • (Can we date this quote by Burke and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      To prevent anything which may prove an obstacle to the full swing of his genius.
  14. Influence or power of anything put in motion.
  15. (boxing) A type of hook with the arm more extended.
Quotations
  • 1937 June 11, Judy Garland, “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm”, A day at the races, Sam Wood (director), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
    All God’s chillun got rhythm. All God's chillun got swing.
    Maybe haven't got money, maybe haven't got shoes.
    All God’s chillun got rhythm for to push away their blues.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Anagrams

Czech

Noun

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  1. swing (dance)

Further reading

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English swing.

Pronunciation

Noun

swing m (plural swings)

  1. swing; several senses

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English swing.

Noun

swing m (uncountable)

  1. swing (music and dance style; golf swing)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English swing.

Noun

swing m (plural s)

  1. swing (a dance and music style)
  2. swinging (exchange of partners for sex)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English swing.

Pronunciation

Noun

swing m (plural swings)

  1. swing (dance)
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