swithe

Middle English

Adverb

swithe

1. speedily; promptly
   • c. 1382–1395, John Wycliffe [et al.], edited by Josiah Forshall and Frederic Madden, The Holy Bible, […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, III, or IV), Oxford: At the University Press, published 1850, →OCLC, John XIII:27:

     That thou doest, do thou swithe.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 1360, John Mandeville (accredited), The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

     And he yede and opened the tomb, and there flew out an adder right hideous to see; the which as swithe flew about the city and the country, and soon after the city sank down.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• “swithe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *swinþ (“strong”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswiːðe/

Adverb

swīthe

1. very

Descendants

• Saterland Frisian: swied
• West Frisian: swiid

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN