Wiktionary

swan

See also: Swan, SWAN, and ꓢꓪꓮꓠꓸ

English

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Mute swan (Cygnus olor)

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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

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swan (plural swans or swan)

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

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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
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  • In the sense “to travel”, usually used as part of the phrase “to swan about” or “to swan around”.

Etymology 2

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Probably from dialectal I s’wan, a corruption of I shall warrant; or possibly from a minced form of I swear on.

Alternative forms

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Verb

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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

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /swan/, (West Midland) /swɔn/

Noun

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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
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  • English: swan
  • Scots: swan
References
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Etymology 2

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From Old English swān.

Noun

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swan

  1. Alternative form of swon (“pigherder”)

Old English

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Etymology 1

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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

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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swan m

  1. swan
    • c. 1000, Ælfric of Eynsham (tr.), Hexameron of St. Basil:
      Đa fugelas sōðlīċe ðe on flōdum wuniað, syndon flaxfōte, bē Godes foresċeawunge, ðæt hī swimman magon and sēcan him fōdan. Sume bēoð langswēorede swā swā swanas and ylfettan ðæt hī aræċan him magon mete bē ðām grunde. And ða ðe bē flǣsċe lybbað, syndon clyferfēte and sċearpe ġebilode, ðæt hī bītan magon on sċeortum swuran and swyftran on flihte, ðæt hī ġelimplīċe bēon tō heora līfes tilungum.
      Truly, the birds that live in the waters are web-footed by God's forethought, so that they can swim and seek food for themselves. Some, such as swans, are long-necked, so that they can reach food on the ground. And those that live on flesh are claw-footed, sharp-billed so that they can bite with short necks, and swifter in flight, such that they can properly perform the labors of their life.
Declension
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Strong a-stem:

singular plural
nominative swan swanas
accusative swan swanas
genitive swanes swana
dative swane swanum
Synonyms
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Descendants
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Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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swān m

  2. man; warrior
  3. herdsman; herder
  4. servant
  5. boy; lad
Derived terms
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Descendants
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West Frisian

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Etymology

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

Noun

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swan c (plural swannen, diminutive swantsje)

  1. swan

Derived terms

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Further reading

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