swarmen
Low German edit
Etymology edit
From the noun Swarm. Related to Dutch zwermen and German schwärmen.
Verb edit
swarmen (past swarm, past participle swarmt, auxiliary verb hebben)
- to swarm
Conjugation edit
Conjugation of swarmen (weak verb)
| infinitive | swarmen | |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | present | preterite |
| 1st person singular | swarm | swarm |
| 2nd person singular | swarms(t) | swarms(t) |
| 3rd person singular | swarm(t) | swarm |
| plural | swarmt, swarmen | swarmen |
| imperative | present | — |
| singular | swarm(e) | |
| plural | swarmt | |
| participle | present | past |
| swarmen | (e)swarmt, geswarmt | |
| Note: This conjugation is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects. | ||
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old English swierman, from Proto-Germanic *swarmijaną; equivalent to swarm + -en (infinitival suffix).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
swarmen
- To swarm; to move around in a large group.
- a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Summoner's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 1693–1696:
- Right so as bees out swarmen from an hyve, / Out of the develes ers ther gonne dryve / Twenty thousand freres on a route / And thurghout helle swarmed al aboute...
- Just like bees swarm from a hive / Out of the devil's arse there were driven / Twenty thousand friars on a rout / And throughout hell they swarmed all about...
- (rare) To be present in great quantity.
Conjugation edit
Conjugation of swarmen (weak in -ed)
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Descendants edit
References edit
- “swarmen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-25.