swallow-shrike 
6008 swamp-mahogany 
VMtUVWWHM 
to certain fork-tailed drone-shrikes (as that figured un- S wame 2 t, . A Middle English form of sqwtme. simply diehotomous antlers, inhabiting swampy 
derdron0o)when the two families IKcruridee and Artami- Jn w hose bloodde bathed he should have been, places. 
die were not separated, or were differently constituted; His leprous sjramex to have weshed of clene. swamp-dock (swomp'dok), ti. See aOOft*, 1. 
but in present use it applies only to the resti Harding, Chronicle, f. 49. (Ualliwell.) swam p-dogWOOd (swomp'dog"wud), . Same 
to be brought, from the sea-shore by swallows 
to give sight to their young, and to be found 
in the stomachs of the latter. The myth is no- 
related to (b) AS. swam, sieanim = MLG. swam, 
swamp = OHG. swam (swamb-), MHG. mram. 
to Longfellow. 
swallow-struck (swol'6-struk), a. Bewitched 
or injured by a swallow. Among many superstitions 
connected witli swallows are those to the effect that if the 
bird flies under one's arm the limb is paralyzed, ind if un- 
der a cow the milk becomes bloody. See witch-chick, and 
compare shrew-struck. 
swallowtail (swol'6-tal), n. and a. I. n. 1. A 
swallow's tail ; hence, a long and deeply forked 
or forficate tail, like that of the barn-swallow. 
2. A swallow-tailed animal, (a) Any swallow- 
) = Dan. Sw. svamp, a fungus, sponge, 
=Gotti. sicamms, a sponge ; (c) cf . Goth, swnmsl, a 
ditch; (d) cf. alsoE. Aial.swank, sicang, aswamp; 
akin to Gr. aoufyof, spongy, oTrtiyyof, sponge, L. 
fungus, fungus: see fungus and sponge. Not 
connected with swim 1 .'] 1. A piece of wet, 
spongy land; low ground saturated with water; 
soft, wet ground which may have a growth of 
certain kinds of trees, but is unfit for agricul- 
tural or pastoral purposes. 
species of which have more or less lengthened processes 
of the hind wings, which together compose a swallowtail. 
See cut under Papilio. (b) A humming-bird of the genus 
Eupetomena, as E. hirundo or E. macrura, having a long, 
deeply forked tail, (c) The swallow-tailed kite. See cut 
under Elanoides. 
3. Something resembling in form or suggest- 
ing the forked tail of a swallow, (a) A plant, a 
species of willow. 
The shining willow they call swallow-tail. 
Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
(6) In joinery, same as dovetail, (e) In fort., same as bon- 
net a pretre (which see, under bonnet), (d) A swallow-tailed 
coat; a dress-coat. [Colloq.] (e) The points of a burgee. 
(/) A broad or barbed arrow-head. 
The English . . . sent off their volleys of sicattow-tails 
before we could call on St. Andrew. 
Scott, Fair Maid of Perth, xxix. 
Tiger swallowtail, the turnus, Papilio turnus, a large 
yellow swallow-tailed butterfly, streaked with black, com- 
mon in the United States. See cut under turnus. 
II. a. Same as swallow-tailed. 
Here is one of the new police, with blue su'allow-tail 
coat tightly buttoned, and white trousers. 
W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 50. 
swallow-tailed (Bwol'6-tald), a. I. Of the form 
of a swallow's tail ; having tapering or pointed 
skirts: applied particularly to a coat. 2. In 
joiner//, dovetailed. 3. Having a long, deeply 
forked tail, like the barn-swallow's Swallow- 
tailed butterfly, a swallowtail, as Papilio machaon, a 
large European species, expanding from 34 to 4 inches, of 
a yellow color banded and spotted with black, and having a 
brick-red spot at the anal angle of the hind wings, which are 
prolonged into tails. See cuts under PapUio and turnus. 
Swallow-tailed duck. See avA'i. Swallow-tailed 
flycatcher, a bird of the family Tyrannidse and genus M tl- 
mdus; a scissortail. There are two species in the United 
States, M. tyrannus and M. forficatus. See cuts under Mil- 
vulus and scissorlail. Swallow-tailed gull, Creagrus 
furcatm, a very rare species of gull inhabiting the Gala- 
pagos Islands and the Peruvian coast. It is a large gull, 
the wing 16J inches, white, with pearl-gray mantle, dark- 
colored primaries in most of their extent, and a sooty hood 
with white frontal spots, the bill blackish tipped with yel- 
low, the feet red, and the tail deeply forked. It has been 
erroneously considered arctic, and also attributed to Cali- 
fornia.- Swallow-tailed kingfisher. See kingfisher. 
Swallow-tailed kite. See su'allow-hawk, and cut under 
Elanoides. Swallow-tailed moth, Urapteryx sambuca- 
ria, a European moth of a pale-yellowish color, with olive 
markings, and a red spot at the base of the tail into which 
the hinder wings are prolonged. Swallow-tailed shel- 
drake, the swallow-tailed duck. See cut under Harelda. 
C. Swainson, 1885. [Local, British.] 
swallow-wing (swol'6-wing),. A South Amer- 
ican fissirostral barbet of the genus Chelidop- 
tera. See cut under Chelidoptera. P. L. Sclater. 
swallow-woodpeckert (sworo-wud'pek-er), . 
A woodpecker of the genus Melancrpes in a 
broad sense. Swainson. 
swallowwort (swol'6-wert), n. [< D. zwaluw- 
wortel, trans, of Hirundinaria, name in Brun- 
f elsius, etc., of Vincetoxicum, on account of some 
resemblance of the pod or seeds to a flying swal- 
low, G. schwalbenwitrz, schwalbenkraut. Also, 
for def. 3, trans, of Chelidonium. See celan- 
dine.} 1. The European herb Cynanchum (As- 
clepias) Vincetoxicum, or white swallowwort, the 
plant anciently called asclepias. Also called 
rincetoxicim (which see) and tame-poison. 2. 
Hence, as a book-name, any plant of the genus 
Asclepias, the milkweed: applied also to the 
soma-plant, as formerly classed in Asclepias, and 
to an umbellifer, ElKoselinum (Thapsia) Ascle- 
pium, perhaps from its external resemblance to 
an asclepiad. 3. The celandine, Chelidonium 
majus, once fancied to be used by swallows as 
a sight-restorer. Compare swallow-stone. 
swalowet, swalwet. Middle English forms of 
swallow 1 , swallow?. 
swam (swam or sworn). Preterit of swim. 
SWameHi " See sweam. 
Lightning. 
Wafer A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of 
[America (1699X p. IS. 
Swamp seems peculiarly an American word. 
J. D. Whitney, Names and Places, p. 211. 
2. In coal-mining, a local depression in a coal- 
bed, in which water may collect. [Pennsyl- 
vania bituminous-coal districts.] 3. A shal- 
low lake. [Australia.] Swamp fly-honeysuckle, 
a shrub, Lonicera oblongifolia, of the northern United 
States and Canada. Swamp globe-flower. Same as 
spreading globe-flower (which see, under spread, v.). 
Swamp pea- tree. See pea-tree, 2. Swamp post-oak. 
See post-oak. Swamp rose-mallow. See Hibiscus. 
Swamp Spanish oak. Same as pin-oak. Swamp tea- 
tree. See tea-tree. Swamp white oak. See white oak, 
under oak. = Syn, 1. Morass, etc. See marsh. 
swamp 1 (swomp), v. [< swamp 1 , .] I. trans. 1. 
To plunge, whelm, or sink in a swamp, or as in 
a swamp. 
Meat, which is abundant, is rarely properly cooked, and 
game, of which Sweden has a great variety, is injured by 
being swamped in sauces. 
B. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 201. 
2. To plunge into inextricable difficulties ; over- 
whelm ; ruin ; hence, to outbalance ; exceed 
largely in numbers. 
Having swamped himself in following the ignis fatuus of 
a theory. Sir W. llamilton. 
Before the Love of Letters, overdone, 
Had swampt the sacred poets with themselves. 
Tennyson, Old Poets foster'd under friendlier skies. 
A circular tin bath-tub, concerning which the Moham- 
medan mind had stvamped itself in vain conjecture. 
T. B. Aldrich, Ponkapog to Pesth, p. 207. 
Swamped with full washes and blots of colour or strong 
strokes with the red pen. The Portfolio, April, 1888, p. 68. 
3. Naut., to overset, sink, or cause to become 
filled, as a boat, in water; whelm. 4. To cut 
out (a road) into a forest. See swamper. Sports- 
man's Gazetteer. [U. S.] 
II. intrans. 1. To sink or stick in a swamp; 
hence, to be plunged in inextricable difficulties. 
2. To become filled with water and sink, as a 
boat; founder; hence, to be ruined; be wrecked. 
swamp 2 (swomp), a -. [Cf. swank*.] Thin; slen- 
der; lean. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
Our why is better tidded than this cow, 
Her ewr's but m'ampe; shee's nut for milk I trow. 
A Yorkshire Dialogue (1697), p. 36. (Halliwell.) 
swamp-apple (swomp'ap"!), . Same as honey- 
suckle-apple. 
swamp-ash (swomp'ash), n. Same as hoop-ash. 
swamp-beggarticks (swomp'beg"iir-tiks),w. A 
plant, Bidens connata, with adhesive seeds. 
swamp-blackberry (swomp'blak"ber-i), n. A 
blackberry which grows in swamps. See run- 
ning swamp-blackberry, under running. 
swamp-blackbird (swomp ' blak"berd) , n. Same 
as marsh-blackMrd. 
swamp-blueberry (swomp'blo"ber-i), . See 
olueberry. 
swamp-broom (swomp ' brom), . Same as 
sicamp-oal; 2 (<i). 
swamp-cabbage (swomp'kab'aj), n. Same as 
skunk-cabbage. See cabbage 1 . 
SWamp-COttonwood ( swomp 'kot"n-wud), n. 
Same as downy poplar (which see, under poplar). 
swamp-Crake (swomp'krak), n. An Australian 
crake, Ortygometra tabuensis, about 7 inches 
long, of a chocolate-brown and slate-gray color. 
W. L. Buller. 
swamp-cypress (swomp'si"pres), n. The bald 
cypress, Taxodium distichum ; also, a tree of the 
genus Chamsecyparis, sometimes called ijnntiul- 
or marsh-cypress. 
swamp-deer (swomp'der), n. A rucervine deer 
of India, Rucerrus duraucelli, of a light-yellow- 
ish color, about 4 feet high, with long-beamed 
Same as rock-rim. 
_ _ co mp + -!.] One 
engaged in breaking out roads for lumber- 
ers, or clearing away underbrush, especially in 
swamps; one who cuts trees in a swamp. [U. S.] 
But when the swamps are deep in water the swamper 
may paddle up to these trees whose narrowed waists are 
now within the swing of his ax, and standing up in his 
canoe, by a marvel of balancing skill, cut and cut until at 
length his watchful up-glancing eye sees the forest giant 
bow his head. G. W. Cable, The Century, XXXV. 650. 
After the trees are sawn off, as near the roots as possi- 
ble, the trunks are cut into logs of various lengths the 
shortest being, as a rule, sixteen feet long. The men 
called swampers then clear away the underbrush. 
St. Nicholas, XVII. 683. 
swamp-fever (swomp'fe"ver), n. A malarial 
fever (which see, under fever). 
swamp-gum (swomp'gum), n. A tree of the 
genus Eucalyptus, of various species, including 
Eucalyptus Gutinii, a mountain form of which in 
Tasmania is called cider-tree (which see); E. 
pauciflora, white or drooping gum ; E. rostrala, 
red-gum ; E. pan icn la ta, white ironbark ; E. amyg- 
dalina, giant gum or peppermint-tree; etc. The 
last species embraces perhaps the loftiest trees on the 
globe, one specimen having measured 471 feet. Another 
at a height of 210 feet had still a diameter of 5 feet. 
swamp-hare (swomp'har), n. A large, long- 
limbed hare or rabbit, Lepus aqnaticus, inhabit- 
ing the fresh-water swamps and bayous of the 
Swamp-hare (Ltptts aquaticus). 
southern United States, as in Mississippi and 
Louisiana, where it is locally known as the wa- 
ter-rabbit. It is one of the few species of this extensive 
genus which are to any extent aquatic in habits. It is quite 
distinct from the small marsh-hare, L. palustris, which is 
found in the salt-marshes of the Southern States as far 
north as North Carolina. The range of the swamp-hare 
extends in the cane-brakes of the Mississippi valley as far 
at least as Cairo in Illinois. It is one of the larger species, 
18 or 20 inches long, the ears 3 inches, the hind foot 4. The 
tail is very short, and the skull is less than half as wide as 
it is long, with confluent postorbital processes. In color 
the swamp-hare resembles the common gray wood-rabbit. 
swamp-hellebore (swomp'hel"e-bor), n. See 
hellebore, 2 and 3. 
swamp-hen (swomp'hen), n. A marsh-hen. 
Specifically (a) The swamp-crake, (6) The European 
purple gallinule. (c) A large blackish gallinule of Austra- 
lia and New Zealand, Porphyrio melanotus, about 21 inches 
long. See cut under Porphyrio. Walter L. Buller. 
swamp-hickory (swomp'hik"o-ri), . Same as 
bitternut; also, same as bitter pecan (see pecan). 
swamp-honeysuckle (swomp'hun"i-suk-l), n. 
The clammy azalea, Rhododendron riscosiim, a 
shrub found in swamps in eastern North Amer- 
and is very viscid. 
swamp-land (swomp'land), n. Land covered 
with swamps. 
The so-called "sivamp lands" forming a portion of the 
national domain have been freely bestowed on the various 
States in which they occur, and have been the source of 
endless fraud and deceit, since large areas of the most 
valuable agricultural land in the country have been 
claimed and held as "stramp land." 
J. D. Whitney, Names and Places, p. 212. 
swamp-laurel (swomp' la"rel), n. The pale lau- 
rel, Kalmia glauca; also, the laurel magnolia, 
Magnolia glauca. 
swamp-lily (swomp'liF'i), n. 1. See lily, 1. 
2. A plant of the genus Zephyranthes. 
swamp-locust (swomp'16"kust), . Same as 
irater-lontxt. 
swamp-loosestrife (swomp'loVstrif), w. See 
Nesiea. 
swamp-lover (swomp'luv'er), w. Same as xtud- 
floirer. 
swamp-magnolia (swomp'mag-nd"li-a), H. The 
swamp-laurel Magnnl/a </'"'"'" See Magnotta. 
swamp-mahogany (swomp'ma-hog"a-ni), . 
An Australian timber-tree of the species Euca- 
