Wiktionary

swan

See also: Swan and ꓢꓪꓮꓠꓸ

English edit

 
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A swan.

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English swan, from Old English swan, from Proto-West Germanic *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz (“swan”, literally “the singing bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *swonh₂-/*swenh₂- (“to sing, make sound”).

Cognate with West Frisian swan, Low German Swaan, swan, Dutch zwaan, German Schwan, Danish svane, Norwegian svane, Swedish svan. Related also to Old English ġeswin (“melody, song”), Old English swinsian (“to make melody”).

Further cognates include (possibly) Russian звон (zvon, “ring, chime”); Latin sonus (“sound”), Sanskrit स्वन् (svan, “sound”). Doublet of sound.

Noun edit

swan (plural swans or swan)

  1. Any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus (bird family: Anatidae), most of which have white plumage.
  2. (figuratively) One whose grace etc. suggests a swan.
  3. (heraldry) This bird used as a heraldic charge, sometimes with a crown around its neck (e. g. the arms of Buckinghamshire).
Hyponyms edit
Holonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Verb edit

swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)

  1. (intransitive) To travel or move about in an aimless, idle, or pretentiously casual way.
    • 2010, Lee Rourke, The Canal, Melville House Publishing, →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[1], HarperCollin, →ISBN:
      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.
    • 2022, Ling Ma, “G”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
      On the other side: the rich, beautiful tapestry of WASP culture that constituted Levis's life—friends playing horseshoes at backyard cocktail parties, where girls swanned in chaise longues, clinking their gin and tonics.
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, a corruption of I shall warrant; or possibly from a minced form of I swear on.

Alternative forms edit

Verb edit

swan (third-person singular simple present swans, present participle swanning, simple past and past participle swanned)

  1. (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, published 2010, page 214:
      ‘She slammed the door so hard I figured a window'd break […] .’ ‘I swan,’ I said.

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old English swan, from Proto-West Germanic *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz.

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

swan (plural swannes)

  1. swan (bird of the genus Cygnus)
  2. The meat of a swan.
  3. (heraldry) A swan as a heraldic symbol.
Descendants edit
  • English: swan
  • Scots: swan
References edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Old English swān.

Noun edit

swan

  1. Alternative form of swon (“pigherder”)

Old English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Proto-West Germanic *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“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

  1. swan
Declension edit
Declension of swan (strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative swan swanas
accusative swan swanas
genitive swanes swana
dative swane swanum
Synonyms edit
Descendants edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Proto-Germanic *swainaz. Doublet of sweġen, a borrowing from Old Norse.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

swān m

  2. man; warrior
  3. herdsman; herder
  4. servant
  5. boy; lad
Descendants edit

West Frisian edit

Etymology edit

From Old Frisian *swan, from Proto-West Germanic *swan, from Proto-Germanic *swanaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- (“to sound, resound”).

Noun edit

swan c (plural swannen, diminutive swantsje)

  1. swan

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

  • “swan”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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