The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 1681
Swang (?) , obs. imp. of Swing .
Swang <Xpage=1456>
Swang , n. [Cf. Swamp .] A swamp. [Prov. Eng.]
Swanherd <Xpage=1456>
Swan"herd` (?) , n. One who tends or marks swans; as, the royal swanherd of England .
Swan-hopping <Xpage=1456>
Swan"-hop`ping (?) , n. A corruption of Swan-upping . [Eng.]
Encyc. Brit.
Swanimote <Xpage=1456>
Swan"i*mote (?) , n. (Eng. Forest Law) See Swainmote .
Swankie, Swanky <Xpage=1456>
Swank"ie , Swank"y (?) , n. [Cf. G. schwank flexible, pliant.] An active and clever young fellow. [Scot.]
Sir W. Scott.
Swanlike <Xpage=1456>
Swan"like` (?) , a. Resembling a swan.
Swanmark <Xpage=1456>
Swan"mark` (?) , n. A mark of ownership cut on the bill or swan. [Eng.]
Encyc. Brit.
Swannery <Xpage=1456>
Swan"ner*y (?) , n. A place where swans are bred. "The largest swannery in England."
Encyc. Brit.
Swanny <Xpage=1456>
Swan"ny (?) , a. Swanlike; as, a swanny glossiness of the neck .
Richardson.
Swanpan <Xpage=1456>
Swan"pan (?) , n. [Cf. Schwanpan .] The Chinese abacus; a schwanpan. <-- also, suan-pan -->
S. W. Williams.
Swan's-down, ∨ Swans-down <Xpage=1456>
Swan's"-down` (?) , ∨ Swans"-down` , n. 1. The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress.
2. A fine, soft, thick cloth of wool mixed with silk or cotton; a sort of twilled fustian, like moleskin.
Swan's-down cotton . See Cotton flannel , under Cotton .
Swanskin <Xpage=1456>
Swan"skin` (?) , n. 1. The act of a swan with the down or the feathers on.
2. A species of soft flannel, thick and warm.
Swan-upping <Xpage=1456>
Swan"-up`ping (?) , n. A yearly expedition on the Thames to take up young swans and mark them, as by Companies of Dyers and Vintners; -- called also swan-hopping . [Eng.]
Encyc. Brit.
Swap <Xpage=1456>
Swap (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swapped (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swapping .] [OE. swappen to strike; cf. E. to strike a bargain; perh. akin to E. sweep . Cf. Swap a blow, Swap , v. i. ] [Written also swop .] 1. To strike; -- with off . [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] " Swap off his head!"
Chaucer.
2. To exchange (usually two things of the same kind); to swop. [Colloq.]
Miss Edgeworth.
Swap <Xpage=1456>
Swap , v. i. [Cf. Swap , v. t. ] 1. To fall or descend; to rush hastily or violently.
C. Richardson (Dict.).
All suddenly she swapt adown to ground. Chaucer.
2. To beat the air, or ply the wings, with a sweeping motion or noise; to flap.
Swap <Xpage=1456>
Swap , n. [Cf. G. schwapp , n., a slap, swap, schwapp , schwapps , interj., slap! smack! and E. swap , v.t.] 1. A blow; a stroke. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
2. An exchange; a barter. [Colloq.]
Sir W. Scott.
Swap <Xpage=1456>
Swap , adv. [See Swap , n. ] Hastily. [Prov. Eng.]
Swape <Xpage=1456>
Swape (?) , n. See Sweep , n. , 12.
Sward <Xpage=1456>
Sward (?) , n. [AS. sweard skin, covering; akin to OFries. swarge , D. zwoord , G. schwarte , Icel. sv\'94r<?/r skin, sward of the earth.] 1. Skin; covering. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
2. The grassy surface of land; that part of the soil which is filled with the roots of grass; turf.
The sward was trim as any garden lawn. Tennyson.
Sward pork , bacon in large fitches. [Prov. Eng.]
Sward <Xpage=1456>
Sward , v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Swarded (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swarding .] To produce sward upon; to cover, or be covered, with sward.
Mortimer.
Sward-cutter <Xpage=1456>
Sward"-cut`ter (?) , n. (a) A plow for turning up grass land. (b) A lawn mower.
Swarded <Xpage=1456>
Sward"ed , a. Covered with sward.
Mrs. Browning.
Swardy <Xpage=1456>
Sward"y (?) , a. Covered with sward or grass.
Sware <Xpage=1456>
Sware (?) , imp. of Swear . [Obs. or Poetic]
Cophetua sware a royal oath. Tennyson.
Swarf <Xpage=1456>
Swarf (?) , v. i. [Cf. Swerve .] To grow languid; to faint. [Scot.] "To swarf for very hunger."
Sir W. Scott.
Swarf <Xpage=1456>
Swarf , n. [Cf. Swerve .] The grit worn away from grindstones in grinding cutlery wet. [Prov. Eng.]
Swarm <Xpage=1456>
Swarm (?) , v. i. [Cf. Swerve .] To climb a tree, pole, or the like, by embracing it with the arms and legs alternately. See Shin . [Colloq.]
At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it. W. Coxe.
Swarm <Xpage=1456>
Swarm , n. [OE. swarm , AS. swearm ; akin to D. zwerm , G. schwarm , OHG. swaram , Icel. svarmr a tumult, Sw. sv\'84rm a swarm, Dan. sv\'91rm , and G. schwirren to whiz, to buzz, Skr. svar to sound, and perhaps to E. swear . \'fb177. Cf. Swerve , Swirl .] 1. A large number or mass of small animals or insects, especially when in motion. "A deadly swarm of hornets."
Milton.
2. Especially, a great number of honeybees which emigrate from a hive at once, and seek new lodgings under the direction of a queen; a like body of bees settled permanently in a hive. "A swarm of bees."
Chaucer.
3. Hence, any great nimber or multitude, as of people in motion, or sometimes of inanimate objects; as, a swarm of meteorites .
Those prodigious swarms that had settled themselves in every part of it [Italy]. Addison.
Syn. -- Multitude; crowd; throng.
Swarm <Xpage=1456>
Swarm , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Swarmed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swarming .] 1. To collect, and depart from a hive by flight in a body; -- said of bees; as, bees swarm in warm, clear days in summer .
2. To appear or collect in a crowd; to throng together; to congregate in a multitude.
Chaucer.
3. To be crowded; to be thronged with a multitude of beings in motion.
Every place swarms with soldiers. Spenser.
4. To abound; to be filled (with).
Atterbury.
5. To breed multitudes.
Not so thick swarmed once the soil Bedropped with blood of Gorgon. Milton.
Swarm <Xpage=1456>
Swarm , v. t. To crowd or throng.
Fanshawe.
Swarmspore <Xpage=1456>
Swarm"spore` (?) , n. 1. (Bot.) One of innumerable minute, motile, reproductive bodies, produced asexually by certain alg\'91 and fungi; a zo\'94spore.
2. (Zo\'94l.) One of the minute flagellate germs produced by the sporulation of a protozoan; -- called also zo\'94spore .
Swart <Xpage=1456>
Swart (?) , n. Sward. [Obs.]
Holinshed.
Swart <Xpage=1456>
Swart (?) , a. [OE. swart , AS. sweart black; akin to OFries, OS. & LG. swart , D. zwart , G. schwartz , OHG. swarz , Icel. svarir , Sw. svart , Dan. sort , Goth. swarts ; cf. L. sordes dirt, sordere to be dirty. Cf. Sordid , Surd .] 1. Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny. " Swart attendants." Trench . " Swart savage maids." Hawthorne .
A nation strange, with visage swart . Spenser.
2. Gloomy; malignant. [Obs.]
Milton.
Swart star , the Dog Star; -- so called from its appearing during the hot weather of summer, which makes swart the countenance. [R.] Milton.
Swart <Xpage=1456>
Swart , v. t. To make swart or tawny; as, to swart a living part .
Sir T. Browne.
Swartback <Xpage=1456>
Swart"back` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The black-backed gull ( Larus marinus ); -- called also swarbie . [Prov. Eng.]
Swarth <Xpage=1456>
Swarth (?) , a. Swart; swarthy. "A swarth complexion."
Chapman.
Swarth <Xpage=1456>
Swarth (?) , n. An apparition of a person about to die; a wraith. [Prov. Eng.]
Grose.
Swarth <Xpage=1456>
Swarth , n. [See Sward .] Sward; short grass.
Grassy swarth , close cropped by nibbling sheep. Cowper.
Swarth <Xpage=1456>
Swarth , n. See Swath .
Swarthily <Xpage=1456>
Swarth"i*ly (?) , adv. In a swarthy manner; with a tawny hue; duskily.
Swarthiness <Xpage=1456>
Swarth"i*ness , n. The quality or state of being swarthy; a dusky or dark complexion; tawniness.
Swarthness <Xpage=1456>
Swarth"*ness , n. Swarthiness. [R.]
Dr. R. Clerke.
Swarthy <Xpage=1456>
Swarth"y (?) , a. [ Compar. Swarthier (?) ; superl. Swarthiest .] [See Swart , a. ] Being of a dark hue or dusky complexion; tawny; swart; as, swarthy faces . "A swarthy Ethiope."
Shak.
Their swarthy hosts would darken all our plains. Addison.
Swarthy <Xpage=1456>
Swarth"y , v. t. To make swarthy. [Obs.]
Cowley.
Swartiness <Xpage=1456>
Swart"i*ness (?) , n. Swarthiness. [Obs.]
Swartish <Xpage=1456>
Swart"ish , a. Somewhat swart, dark, or tawny.
Swartness <Xpage=1456>
Swart"ness , n. The quality or state of being swart.
Swarty <Xpage=1456>
Swart"y (?) , a. Swarthy; tawny. [Obs.]
Burton.
Swarve <Xpage=1456>
Swarve (?) , v. i. [See Swerve .] 1. To swerve. [Obs. or Scot.]
Spenser. Jamieson.
2. To climb. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
Swash <Xpage=1456>
Swash (?) , n. [Cf. Swash , v. i. , Squash , v. t. ] (Arch.) An oval figure, whose moldings are oblique to the axis of the work.
Moxon.
Swash plate (Mach.) , a revolving circular plate, set obliquely on its shaft, and acting as a cam to give a reciprocating motion to a rod in a direction parallel to the shaft.
Swash <Xpage=1456>
Swash , a. [Cf. Swash , v. i. , Squash , v. t. ] Soft, like fruit too ripe; swashy. [Prov. Eng.]
Pegge.
Swash <Xpage=1456>
Swash , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Swashed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swashing .] [Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. svasska to splash, and, for sense 3, Sw. svassa to bully, to rodomontade.] 1. To dash or flow noisily, as water; to splash; as, water swashing on a shallow place .
2. To fall violently or noisily. [Obs.]
Holinshed.
3. To bluster; to make a great noise; to vapor or brag.
Swash <Xpage=1456>
Swash , n. 1. Impulse of water flowing with violence; a dashing or splashing of water.
2. A narrow sound or channel of water lying within a sand bank, or between a sand bank and the shore, or a bar over which the sea washes.
3. Liquid filth; wash; hog mash. [Obs.]
4. A blustering noise; a swaggering behavior. [Obs.]
5. A swaggering fellow; a swasher.
Swashbuckler <Xpage=1456>
Swash"buc`kler (?) , n. A bully or braggadocio; a swaggering, boastful fellow; a swaggerer.
Milton.
Swasher <Xpage=1456>
Swash"er (?) , n. One who makes a blustering show of valor or force of arms.
Shak.
Swashing <Xpage=1456>
Swash"ing , a. 1. Swaggering; hectoring. "A swashing and martial outside."
Shak.
2. Resounding; crushing. " Swashing blow."
Shak.
Swashway <Xpage=1456>
Swash"way` (?) , n. Same as 4th Swash , 2.
Swashy <Xpage=1456>
Swash"y (?) , a. Soft, like fruit that is too ripe; quashy; swash. [Prov. Eng.]
Swat <Xpage=1456>
Swat (?) , obs. imp. of Sweat .
Chaucer.
Swatch <Xpage=1456>
Swatch (?) , n. 1. A swath. [Obs.]
Tusser.
2. A piece, pattern, or sample, generally of cloth.
Halliwell. Jamieson.
Swate <Xpage=1456>
Swate (?) , obs. imp. of Sweat .
Thomson.
Swath <Xpage=1456>
Swath (?) , n. [AS. swa<?/u a track, trace; akin to D. zwaad , zwad , zwade , a swath of grass, G. schwad , schwaden ; perhaps, originally, a shred. Cf. Swathe , v. t. ] 1. A line of grass or grain cut and thrown together by the scythe in mowing or cradling.
2. The whole sweep of a scythe, or the whole breadth from which grass or grain is cut by a scythe or a machine, in mowing or cradling; as, to cut a wide swath .
3. A band or fillet; a swathe.
Shak.
Swath bank , a row of new-mown grass. [Prov. Eng.]
Swathe <Xpage=1456>
Swathe (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swathed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swathing .] [OE. swathen , AS. swe<?/ain . See Swath , n. , and cf. Swaddle .] To bind with a swathe, band, bandage, or rollers.
Their children are never swathed or bound about with any thing when they are first born. Abp. Abbot.
Swathe <Xpage=1456>
Swathe , n. A bandage; a band; a swath.
Wrapped me in above an hundred yards of swathe . Addison.
Milk and a swathe , at first, his whole demand. Young.
The solemn glory of the afternoon, with its long swathes of light between the far off rows of limes. G. Eliot.
Swather <Xpage=1456>
Swath"er (?) , n. [See Swath , n. ] (Agric.) A device attached to a mowing machine for raising the uncut fallen grain and marking the limit of the swath.
Swatte <Xpage=1456>
Swat"te (?) , obs. imp. of Sweat .
Chaucer.
Sway <Xpage=1456>
Sway (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swayed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swaying .] [OE. sweyen , Icel. sveigja , akin to E. swing ; cf. D. zwaaijen to wield, swing. See Swing , and cf. Swag , v. i. ] 1. To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter .
As sparkles from the anvil rise, When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed . Spenser.
2. To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide.
The will of man is by his reason swayed . Shak.
She could not sway her house. Shak.
This was the race To sway the world, and land and sea subdue. Dryden.
3. To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed by wind; judgment swayed by passion .
As bowls run true by being made On purpose false, and to be swayed . Hudibras.
Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest. Tillotson.
4. (Naut.) To hoist; as, to sway up the yards .
Syn. -- To bias; rule; govern; direct; influence; swing; move; wave; wield.
<page="1457"> Page 1457
Sway <Xpage=1457>
Sway (?) , v. i. 1. To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
The balance sways on our part. Bacon.
2. To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
3. To have weight or influence.
The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker.
4. To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. Shak.
Sway <Xpage=1457>
Sway , n. 1. The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon.
With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton.
2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires .
A. Tucker.
3. Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. Milton.
4. Rule; dominion; control.
Cowper.
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway , The post of honor is a private station. Addison.
5. A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
Syn. -- Rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence; direction; preponderance; ascendency.
Sway-backed <Xpage=1457>
Sway"-backed` (?) , a. Having the back hollow or sagged, whether naturally or as the result of injury or weakness; -- said of horses and other animals.
Sway-bracing <Xpage=1457>
Sway"-bra`cing (?) , n. (Engin.) The horizontal bracing of a bridge, which prevents its swaying.
Swayed <Xpage=1457>
Swayed (?) , a. Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
Shak.
Swayful <Xpage=1457>
Sway"ful (?) , a. Able to sway. [R.]
Rush.
Swaying <Xpage=1457>
Sway"ing , n. An injury caused by violent strains or by overloading; -- said of the backs of horses.
Crabb.
Sweal <Xpage=1457>
Sweal (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Swealed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Swealing .] [OE. swelen to burn, AS. swelan ; akin to G. schwelen to burn slowly, schw\'81l sultry, Icel. sv\'91la a thick smoke.] To melt and run down, as the tallow of a candle; to waste away without feeding the flame. [Written also swale .]
Sir W. Scott.
Sweal <Xpage=1457>
Sweal , v. t. To singe; to scorch; to swale; as, to sweal a pig by singeing off the hair .
Swear <Xpage=1457>