swanky 
swanky 2 , swankie (swang'ki), n. [Origin ob- 
scure.] 1. Any weak fermented drink ; cheap 
beer. [Slang.] 2. A drink composed of 
water, molasses, and vinegar. [Fishermen's 
slang.] 
swan-maiden (swon'ma"dn), n. One of the 
maidens who, in many Indo-European legends, 
were believed in the guise of swans to have 
supernatural power, traveling at will through 
air or water Their power depended on the possession 
of a robe or shift of swan's feathers, or, according to other 
narratives, a ring or chain, on the loss of which the maid- 
ens became mortal. The swan-maidens or swan-wives 
are found in Teutonic mythology as the valkyrs or wish- 
maidens of Odin (Wuotan). riding through the air at the 
will of the god. The influence of this myth is also seen 
in the medieval conception of angels. 
swan-mark (swon'mark), n. A mark indicat- 
ing the ownership of a swan, generally cut on 
the beak in the operation known as swan-up- 
ping. Also called eigninota. 
The swan-mark, called by Sir Edward Coke eigninota, 
was cut in the skin of the beak of the swan with a sharp 
knife or other instrument. Yarrell, British Birds. 
swan-marking (swon'mar''king), n. Same as 
swan-upping. 
swan-mussel (swon'musl), n. A kind of pond- 
mussel, or fresh-water bivalve, Anodonta cyg- 
nens. 
swanneck (swon'nek), n. 1. The end of a 
pipe, a faucet, or the like, curved in some re- 
semblance to the neck of a swan when swim- 
ming. See gooseneck. 2. See swan-flower. 
swanner (swon'er), . [< swan 1 + -er 1 .] A 
swan-keeper. Municip. Corporation Reports, 
6100 
The taking of swans, performed annually by the swan 
companies, with the Lord Mayor of London at their head, 
for the purpose of marking them. The king's swans were 
marked with two nicks or notches, whence a double ani- 
mal was invented, unknown to the Greeks, called the 
swan with two necks. A MS. of swan marks is in the li- 
swarm 
Ay, marry, sir, here's swajipina sins indeed ! 
Middleton, Game at Chess, iv. 2. 
modern term swan-hopping is merely a corruption from 
it. The struggle of the swans when caught by their pur- 
suers, and the duckings which the latter received in the 
contest, made this diversion very popular. Ualliwell. 
swanwort (swon'wert), n. See swan-flower. 
swap 1 (swop), i\; pret. and pp. swapped, ppr. 
swapping. [Also swop; < ME. swappen; cf . G. 
schwappeii. swap; a secondary form, prob. con- 
nected with AS. sicapan, swoop, etc. : see sweep, 
swoop.] I. trans. If. To strike; beat. 
To haue with his swerd swapped of his bed. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3609. 
His hed to the walle, his body to the grounde, 
Ful ofte he swapte, hymselven to confounde. 
p. 2465. [Local, Eng.] 
swannery (swon'er-i), . ; pi. , 
swannery (swon'er-i), .; pi. swanneries (-in). 
[< swan' + -ery.~] A place where swans are 
bred and reared. 
Anciently the crown had an extensive swannery attached 
to the royal palace or manor of Clarendon, in Wiltshire. 
Yarrell, British Birds. 
swanny (swou'i), a. [< swan 1 + -y 1 .] Swan- 
like. 
Once more bent to my ardent lips the swanny glossiness 
of a neck late so stately. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, IV. 22. (Davies.) 
swanpan, n. See shwanpan. 
Swan River daisy. [< Swan River in Western 
Australia.] A pretty annual composite plant, 
Brachycome ibcridifulia, of "Western Australia. 
The heads are about an inch broad, and have bright-blue 
rays with paler center. It is cultivated in flower-gardens, 
and is well suited for massing. 
Swan River everlasting. A composite plant, 
Heliptcrum (Khodantlw) Manglesii. See Jtho- 
dunthe. 
swan's-down (swouz'doun), n. 1. The down 
or under-plumage of a swan. It is made into a 
delicate trimming for garments, but it is prin- 
cipally used for powder-puffs. Also swan-down. 
With his plumes and tufts of swan's down. 
Longfellow, Hiawatha, xvi. 
2. (a) A fine, soft, thick woolen cloth. 
If a gold-laced waist-coat has an empty pouch, the plain 
swan's-doicn will be the brawer of the twa. 
Scott, St. Ronan's Well, xv. 
Chilion, the chief musician, had on a pearl-colored coat, 
buff swansdown vest, white worsted breeches, and ribbed 
stockings. S. Judd, Margaret, i. 10. 
(6) A thick cotton cloth with a soft pile or nap 
on one side : more commonly called Canton or 
cotton flannel. 
Swansea porcelain. See porcelain 1 . 
swan-shot (swon'shot), n. A very large size of 
shot, used for shooting swans. It is of about 
the same size as buckshot. 
Large swans/tot, as big as small pistol-bullets. 
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (ed. Kingsley), p. 235. 
swanskin (swou'skiu), n. 1. The skin of a 
swan with the feathers on. 2. A kind of fine 
twilled flannel; also, a kind of woolen blanket- 
ing used by letterpress printers and engravers. 
Swan-Spng (swon'song), n. The fabled song 
of a dying swan ; hence, a last poem or musical 
work, written just before the composer's death. 
But the swan-song he sang shall for ever and ever abide 
In the heart of the world, with the winds and the murmur- 
ing tide. 
JR. W. Gilder, The Celestial Passion, More Triumphalis. 
swan-upping (swon'up"ing), n. [Also, corrupt- 
ly, swnniiopping (simulating hopping, as if in al- 
lusion to the struggling of the swans) ; < swan 1 
+ upping.] The custom or practice of marking 
the upper mandible of a swan, on behalf of 
the crown, of Oxford University, and of several 
London companies or gilds. The mark is made 
with a cutting-instrument, and the operation is still an- 
nually performed upon the swans of the river Thames. 
Also called swan-marking. 
sward (sward), . [Also dial, or obs. sword, sord, 
soord; < ME. sward, sword, swart, swarth, < AS. 
sweard, skin, rind, the skin of bacon, = OFries. 
brary of the Royal Society, described in Arch. xvi. Upping swar de = MD. swarde, D. zwoord, rind of ba- 
the OT was formerly a favorite amusement, .and the CQn _ = MLG M(!arrfe) L( j. swaarae> sWftre = 
OHG. "swiirta, MHG. swarte, swart, skin with 
hair or feathers, G. nchwarte, skin, rind, bark, = 
Icel. svorilhr, skin, sward (grassvordlir, 'grass- 
sward,' jarthar-svordhr, 'earth-sward'), =Dan. 
sveer (in flesleesveer, ' flesh-sward,' griiwv&r, 
' greensward,' jordsreer, 'earth-sward') = Goth. 
'swardus (not recorded).] If. A skin ; a cov- 
ering; especially, the hide of a beast, as of a 
hog. 
Swarde or sworde of flesch. Coriana. Prompt. Pan?. 
Or once a week perhaps, for novelty, 
Reez'd bacon-oord* shall feast his family. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, IV. ii. 36. 
2. The grassy surface of land; turf; that part 
of the soil which is filled with the roots of 
grass, forming a kind of mat. When covered 
with green grass it is called greensward. 
The sward was trim as any garden lawn. 
Tennyson, Princess, Prol. 
sward (sward), v. [< sward, n.~\ I. trans. To 
produce sward on ; cover with sward. Imp. 
Diet. 
This swarded circle into which the lime- walk brings us. 
Mrs. Browning, Lady Geraldine's Courtship, st. 28. 
The smooth, 
Swarded alleys, the limes 
Touch'd with yellow by hot 
Summer. M. Arnold, Heine's Grave. 
II. intrans. To become covered with sward. 
The clays that are long in swerding, and little subject 
to weeds, are the best land for clover. Mortimer. 
SWard-CUtter (sward'kut'er), n. 1. A form of 
plow for turning over grass-lands. 2. A lawn- 
mower. Imp. Diet. 
swardy (swar'di), a. [< sward + -y 1 .] Cov- 
ered with sward or grass: as, swardy land. 
sware 1 (swar). An obsolete or archaic preterit 
of swear 1 . 
sware 2 t, . [< ME. swaren, < Icel. svara = Sw. 
svara = Dan. svare, answer: see swear 1 .] To 
answer. 
He called to his chamberlayn, that cofly hym swared, 
& bede hym bryng hym his bruny & his blonk sadel. 
Sir Qawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2011. 
sware s t, a. [< MLG. swar, lit. heavy : see sweer.] 
An old spelling of sweer. 
SWare 4 t, A Middle English form of square. 
swarf 1 (swarf), v. i. [< Sw. svarfva = Dan. 
svarve, turn, = E. swerve : see swerve.] To faint ; 
swoon. [Scotch.] 
And monie a li inn it poor red coat 
For fear amaist did swarf, man ! 
Burns, Battle of Sheriff-Muir. 
The poor vermin was likely at first to swarf for very 
hunger. Scott, Kenilworth, ix. 
swarf 1 (swarf), n. [< swarf 1 , v.] Stupor; a 
fainting-fit; a swoon. [Scotch.] 
swarf 2 (swarf), . [< ME. "swarf, < AS. ge- 
swearf, geswyrf, filings, < sweorfan (pret. *swearf, 
pp. sworfen) = Icel. si'erfa (pret. svarf), file ; cf . 
Sw. svarfva, Dan. svarce, turn in a lathe, = 
Goth, bi-swairban, wipe; cf. E. swarve, creep 
and scrape up a tree, climb, swerve : see swerve, 
and cf. swarf 1 .] The grit mixed with particles 
of iron or steel worn away in grinding cutlery 
wet. 
swarf-money (swarf 'mun"i), n. In feudal law, 
money paid m lieu of the service of castleward. 
Blount. 
swarm 1 (swarm), n. [< ME. swarm,< AS. swearm 
= MD. swerm, D. zwerm = OHG. swaram, MHG. 
swarm, G. schwfirm = Icel. srarmr = Sw. svarm 
= Dan. sveerm, a swarm; prob. orig. a swarm 
of bees, so called from their humming; akin to 
L. susurrus, a murmuring, humming (see susvr- 
rus), Gr. aetpi/v, a siren (see siren), Lith. sur- 
ma, a pipe, Russ. sviriele, a pipe, G. scliwirren, 
whir, Sw. svirra, hum, Dan. svirre, whirl, etc., 
from the root seen in Skt. svar, sound: see 
swear 1 .] 1. A large number or body of insects 
or other small creatures, particularly when 
moving in a confused mass. 
Many great swarmes [of butterflies] ... lay dead upon 
the high waies. Coryat, Crudities, I. 87. 
A swarm of flies in vintage time. MUton, P. R., iv. 15. 
2. Especially, a cluster or great number of 
honey-bees wtiich emigrate from a hive at once, 
and seek new lodgings under the direction of 
a queen ; also, a like body of bees settled per- 
manently in a hive. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 245. 
If any do but lift up his nose to smell after the truth, 
they swap him in the face with a fire-brand, to singe his 
smelling. 
Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc., 1850), p. 73. 
2. To chop: used with reference to cutting 
wheat in a peculiar way. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
Il.t intrans. 1. To strike; aim a blow. 
He swapt at hym swyth with a sword fell ; 
Hit brake thurgh the basnet to the bare hed. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. G921. 
2. To move swiftly; rush. 
Beofs to him swapte. Layamon, 1. 26775. 
3. To fall down. 
swap 1 (swop), n. [< ME. swap, swappe; cf. G. 
scnwapp, a blow; from the verb.] If. A blow; 
a stroke. 
With swappes sore thei hem swong. 
Cursor ilundi. (HaUiiceU.) 
If 't be a thwack, I make account of that ; 
There 's no new-fashion'd swap that e'er came up yet, 
But I've the first on 'em, I thank 'em for 't. 
Fletcher (and another), Nice Valour, iii. 2. 
2f. A swoop. 
Me fleing at a swappe he hente. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 543. 
3. A fall. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
swap 1 (swop), adv. [Alsosioop; an elliptical 
use of swap 1 , v.~] At a snatch ; hastily ; with 
hasty violence. [Prov. Eng.] 
swap 2 (swop), '. ; pret. and pp. swapped, ppr. 
swapping. [Also swop, and formerly swab (see 
swaV*); a particular use of swap 1 , appar. in 
allusion to 'striking' a bargain.] I. trans. To 
exchange ; barter. 
They swapped swords, and they twa swat, 
And aye the blood ran down between. 
Battle of Otterbourne (Child's Ballads, VII. 24). 
Farmers frequented the town, to meet old friends and 
get the better of them in swapping horses. 
E. Egglestan, The Graysons, x. 
To swap Off, to cheat ; "sell." [Slang, U. S.] 
Den Brer Fox know dat he been swap of mighty bad. 
J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus, iv. 
II. intrans. To barter; exchange. 
Of course not ! What you want to do is to swap. I seed 
that in your eyes the minit you rode up. 
W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 186. 
swap 2 (swop), n. [< swap 1 *, >.] An act of 
swapping; a barter; an exchange. [Colloq.] 
For the pouther, I e'en changed it ... for gin and 
brandy . . . a gude swap too. 
Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, xxvi. 
We'd better take maysures for shettin' up shop, 
An' put off our stock by a vendoo or swop. 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, 2d ser., v. 
Not even the greasy cards can stand against the attrac- 
tions of a swap of horses, and these join the group. 
W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 187. 
swape (swap), v. i. and *. [An obs. or dial. 
form of swoop or sweep.] 1. To sweep. 2. To 
place aslant. [Prov. Eng. in both uses.] 
swape (swap), w. [A var. of sweep; cf. swape, 
v.] 1. Same as sweep, 7. 2. A sconce or 
light-holder. 3. A pump-handle. 4. Same 
as sweep, 10. [Prov. Eng. in all uses.] 
SWape-well (swap'wel), n. A well from which 
water is raised by a well-sweep. [Prov. Eng.] 
Dwellers in the Eastern Counties may be credited with 
knowing what a fwape-well is, though most of them have 
now given way to the prosaic, but far more useful, pump. 
A swape-well is a well from which the water is raised by a 
loaded lever. N. and Q., 7th ser., X. 240. 
swapping (swop'ing), a. [Grig. ppr. of swap 1 , 
t'.] Large; big; "whopping." [Obsolete or 
prov. Eng.] 
Oh ! by the blood of King Edward ! 
It was a swapping, sivapping mallard ! 
Old Song of All Souls, Oxford. 
