swash 
4 . A low coast-belt or tract of country covered 
with mangroves, and liable to be submerged or 
inundated at certain seasons. [Bahamas.] 
The country described by the natives as either coppet, 
pine-yard, or swash. . . . Here the ground is soft, and in 
wet weather almost entirely under water : hence the pe- 
culiar appropriateness of the local term swash. 
The Auk, Jan., 168)1, pp. (M, K. 
5. A blustering noise; a vaporing. [Slang.] 
6. A roaring blade ; a swaggerer; a swasher. 
With courtly knights, not roaring country swashes. 
Britannia Triumphant: (1B37). (Nares.) 
swash 2 (swosh), . [Cf. squash 2 .] Soft; watery, 
like fruit too ripe. Also swaslty. HalliweU. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
swash s + (swosh), . In arch., an oval figure 
formed by moldings which are placed oblique- 
ly to the axis of the work. 
Swash [is] a figure whose circumference is not round, 
but oval; and whoso mouldings lie not at right angles, 
but oblique to the axis of the work. 
Moxon, Mechanical Exercises. (Latham.) 
swash-bank (swosh'bangk), n. The crowning 
part of a sea-embankment. E. H. Knight. 
swash-bucket (swosh'buk'et), n. The common 
receptacle of the washings of the scullery; 
hence, a mean, slatternly woman. [Prov. Eng.] 
swash-buckler (swosh'buk"ler), n. [< swash 1 , 
v., + obj. buckler.] A swaggering blade; a 
bravo; a bully or braggadocio. 
A ruffian is the same with a swaggerer, so called because 
endeavoring that side to swag or weigh down whereon he 
engageth. The same also with swash-buckler, from swash- 
ing, or making a noise on buckler. 
Fuller, Worthies of England, III. 347. 
Their men [Egyptians] are very Ruffians and Swashbuck- 
lers. Coryat, Crudities, 1. 64. 
swasher (swosh'er), . [<s:as/(l -f-er 1 .] One 
who swashes, or makes a blustering show of 
valor or force of arms ; a braggart ; a bully. 
I have observed these three swashers ; . . . three such 
antics do not amount to a man. Shalt., Hen. V., iii. 2. SO. 
swashing (swosh'ing), p. a. 1. Having the 
character of a swasher; swaggering; slashing; 
dashing. 
We'll have a swashing and a martial outside. 
Shak., As you Like it, i. 3. 122. 
2. Having great force ; crushing. 
Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. 
Shak., R. and J., i. 1. 70. 
The Britans had a certain skill with their broad swash- 
ing Swords and short Bucklers, either to strike aside or 
to bear off the Darts of their Enemies. 
Milton, Hist. Eng., il. 
swash-letters (swosh ' let " erz), n. pi. Italic 
capital letters of the old style with flourished 
projections : first made by Claude Garamond 
of Paris, about 1540, to fill unsightly gaps at- 
tending the use of some plain inclined letters. 
CM CT{ 
Specime 
T Q^T{ T V QU & 
n of Swash-letters. 
In 
swashlyt (swosh'li), < 
a swashing manner. 
Their tayls with croompled knot twisting swashlye they 
wrigled. Stanihurst, -Eneid, ii. 221. 
swash-plate (swosh'plat), . In mecli., a disk, 
fixed in an inclined position on a revolving 
axis, for the purpose 
of communicating a re- 
ciprocating motion to a 
bar in the direction of 
its length. The excursion 
of the bar varies with the in- 
clination of the plate to the 
axis. 
swashway (swosh'wa), 
n. 1. A deep swampy 
place in large sands 
in the sea. HalliweU. 
[Prov. Eng.] 2. Same 
as swash 1 , 3. 
swash- work ( swosh '- 
werk), . In turnery, cut- 
tings inclined to the axis 
of the cylinder which is 
being worked. 
swashy (swosh'i), a. [< 
swash? + -2/1.] 1. Same as swash?. 
Eng.] 2. Swaggering. Hattiwell. 
swastika (swas'ti-ka), ti. [Skt.. lit. 'of good 
fortune,' < svasti (< su, well, + asti, being), wel- 
fare.] Same as fylfot. Compare crux ansata 
(under crux), and (/animadion. 
swat 1 (swot), n. and v. An old and dialectal 
form of sweat. 
swat 1 (swot). An old and dialectal (Scotch) 
preterit of sweat. 
Swash-plate. 
A, shaft; R, swash-plate; 
C, rod working in guide D 
and having friction-wheel E 
pivoted to its lower end. Ro- 
tation of A and B causes C to 
its own gravity or the action 
of a spring not shown. 
[Prov. 
6102 
swat 2 (swot), v. t. [Perhaps a var. of 
To strike; hit. [Slang.] 
swat 2 (swot), n. [< swat 2 , v.] A blow. [Slang.] 
swatch (swoch), n. [Cf. swath (?).] If. A 
s\v;lth. 
One spreadeth those bands, so in order to lie, 
As barley (in swatches) may fill it thereby. 
Tusser, August's Husbandry, st. 18. 
2. A piece or strip, as of cloth, especially one 
cut off for a pattern or sample : now only in 
trade use. 
Consider but those little watches 
Us'd by the fair sex, called patches. 
T. Ward, England's Reformation, p. 10. 
The weighed hank of yarn or swatch of cloth to be used 
in the experiment is then thoroughly wetted, and im- 
mersed in the liquid. 
Benedikt, Coal-tar Colours (trans.), p. 58. 
swatchway, n. Same as swash 1 , n., 3. Nature, 
XLI. 539. 
swath 1 (swath), n. [Early mod. E. also and 
prop, swathe (a bundle of grass) ; < ME. swathe, 
\ AS. swathn, a swath, a track, foot-track, trace, 
= MD. swade, D. ewad, zwa.de = MLG. swat, LG. 
swad = MHG. sieadem, G. schwad, schwaden, a 
swath, pvob. ' that which has been mown,' and 
related to East Fries, swade, swac, swah = MD. 
swade = MLG. LG. swade, a scythe, sickle, and 
to Icel. svethja, a large knife, svatli, a slippery 
place, si-ethja, slide or glance off; cf . Norw. svail, 
smooth, slippery, svada, shred or slice off, flake 
off (see swad*). Cf. swathe?. The AS. form 
swatltu requires a mod. E. swathe; the form 
swath is due to some interference, which is in- 
dicated also in the erroneous forms swarth? and 
swatch.] 1. A line or ridge of grass, or grain, 
or the like, cut and thrown together by a 
scythe or mowing-machine: often used figura- 
tively. 
The strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge, 
Fall down before him, like the mower's swath. 
Shak., T. and C., v. 5. 26. 
The farmer swung the scythe or turned the hay, 
And 'twixt the heavy swaths his children were at play. 
Bryant, After a Tempest. 
2. The whole reach or sweep of a scythe or cut 
of a mowing-machine ; also, the path or pas- 
sage so cut : as, a wide swath : often used fig- 
uratively. 
Merry mowers, hale and strong, 
Swept, scythe on scythe, their swaths along. 
Whittier, Snow-Bound. 
At last they drew up before the station at Torresdale. 
It was quite deserted, and only a single light cut a swath 
in the darkness. Scribner's Mag., VIII. 161. 
3f. A track; trace. 
Cam him no fleres swathe ner [near]. 
Genesis and Exodus, 1. 3786. 
To cut a Wide swath, to make ostentatious display; 
splurge ; cut a swell. [Colloq. or slang.] 
swath 2 , . Same as swathe 1 *, 
swathbandt, swathbondt, . A swaddling- 
band. 
Sypers, sicathbonds, rybandes, and slevelaces. 
J. lleywood, Four P's, in Dodsley's Old Plays, I. 64. 
Wash'd sweetly over, swaddled with sincere 
And spotless swathbands. 
Chapman, tr. of Homer's Hymn to Apollo, 1. 179. 
swathe 1 !, An old spelling of swath 1 . 
swathe 2 (swaTH), n. [Also swath ; < ME. swathe, 
< AS. swathu, a bandage, band, fillet; perhaps 
the same as swathu, a swath (orig. a row? or a 
shred ?) : see swathe 1 . Cf. swathe*, v.] A band- 
age ; a band of linen or other fabric ; a swad- 
dling-band ; a winding, as of a bandage. 
Which [the Moule and Bray] on her dainty breast, in many 
a silver swathe, 
She bears. Drayton, Polyolbion, i. 286. 
Hast thou not seen (Apollo) the yong Brat 
So late brought forth by lovely Mala? that 
Looks in his swathes so beautifully faire? 
Heywood, Dialogues (Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, VI. 210). 
swathe 2 (swaTH), v. t.; pret. and pp. swathed, 
ppr. swathing. [< ME. swathen, an altered form, 
reverting to the form of the noun, of swethen,< 
AS. "swethian, in comp. be-sieethia>i, swathe, in- 
wrap (= Icel. svatha, swathe), < swathu, a band- 
age: see swathe?, n. Hence freq. swaddle.] 
1. To bind with a bandage or bandages ; swad- 
dle; bind; wrap. 
And neathe a tender vyne in bondes softe. 
I'aUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 107. 
His legs were swathed in flannel. Mamulay, Chatham. 
2f. To make a bundle of; tie up in bundles or 
sheaves, as corn. 
Swathed, or made into sheaves. Cotgrave. 
3. To bind about; inclose; confine. [Rare.] 
Who hath swathed in the great and proud ocean with a 
girdle of sand ? 
Bp. Hopkins, Exposition, p. 276. (Latham.) 
sway 
swathelt, '' t. Same as swaddle. Sandys, Tra- 
vailes, p. 104. 
swathel-bindingt, . Linen used for swathing 
infants. 
I swaddled him in a scurvy sirathcl-lrinding, . . . and 
with my cords tied him royster-like both hand and foot, 
in such sort that he was not able to wince. 
Urguhart, tr. of Rabelais, ii. 14. 
swather (swa'ther), n. [< sicathl -f -fc 1 .] A 
device with curved arms extending diagonally 
backward, fixed to the end of the cutter-bar of 
a reaper or mower to lift up uncut stalks, and 
throw those that are cut in such a way as to 
mark a line of separation between the uncut 
and the cut. 
swathing (swa'THing), . [Verbal n. of SIM the", 
i'.] A band ; a bandage. 
When I was yet in baby swathings, agenius came tomy 
cradle and bestowed on me some whimsical caresses. 
Alien, and Neural., X. 630. 
swathling-clothest(swaTH'ling-kloTHz), . />/. 
Swaddling-clothes. Shak., 1 Hen . IV., iii. 2. 1 12. 
SWathy (swa'thi), a. [Also swathe;/; < swatlil 
+ -?/ 1 -] Of or pertaining to a swath ; consist- 
ing of or lying in swaths. [Bare.] 
Forth hies the mower with his glittering scythe, . . . 
And lays the grass in many a swathey line. 
J. Baillie, A Summer's Day. 
swats (swats), ii. [Also swaits; said to be nit. 
< AS. swdtan, beer.] Ale or beer. [Scotch.] 
Reaming swats that drank divinely. 
Burns, Tarn o' Shanter. 
swatte. Same as swat-. 
swatter (swat'er), . i. [Sc. also squatter, E. 
dial. var. swattle; < D. swaddren, dabble in 
water, = Sw. dial, skradra, squirt, Sw. sqrat- 
tra, squander; freq. of the verb appearing in 
Dan. skratte, splash, spirt, squander, Sw. 
sqratta; cf. Sw. dial, skwatta, squirt, = Icel. 
skvetta, squirt. Cf. swat?, throw down violent- 
ly, swash, a torrent of water. Cf. also squan- 
der.] To splutter; flounce; move rapidly in 
any fluid, generally in an undulating way. Sir 
D. Lyndsay. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
sway (swa), v. [(o) < ME. sweyen, swegen, sirei- 
gen; prob. < Icel. sveigja, bend aside, swing 
(a distaff); cf. sveggja, sway, swing, = Norw. 
sveigja, bend (cf. sveg, switch), = Dan. sveie, 
bend ; causal of Icel. "sviga, bend ( > svigna, give 
way, svigi, a bending switch, svig, a bend), = 
Sw. dial. sviga-(pret. sveg), bend. (6) Cf. Sw. 
svaja = Dan. svaie, jerk, = D. zwaaijen, sway, 
swing, brandish, = LG. swajen, waver in the 
wind. Cf. swag 1 , a collateral form of sway, and 
see swing. The Sw. Dan. svag, weak, pliant, is 
appar. of LG. or G. origin, MHG. swach, G. 
schwach, weak : a word of a different root (see 
s/cfc 1 ).] I. intrans. 1. To bend to one side, as 
by excess of weight ; hang in a heavy, unsteady 
manner; lean away from the perpendicular; 
swag: as, a wall that sways to the west; also, 
to bend or lean first to one side and then to the 
other; swing backward and forward. 
The balance sways on our part. Bacmi. 
The branches 
Swayed and sighed overhead in scarcely audible whispers. 
Longfellow, Evangeline, ii. 4. 
While her dark tresses swayed 
In the hot breath of cannon ! 
Whittier, St. John. 
2. To move or incline to one side, or to one side 
and then to the other, literally or figuratively; 
incline to one side, party, etc., or to one and 
then to the other; vacillate, as judgment or 
opinion. 
This battle fares like to the morning's war ; . . . 
Now sways it this way, like a mighty sea, . . . 
Now sways it that way. Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 5. 5. 
But yet success sways with the breath of Heaven. 
M. Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum. 
3. To have weight or influence; bear rule; 
govern. 
Hadst thou sway'd as kings should do, ... 
They never then had sprung as summer flies. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 6. 14. 
The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. 
Hooker. 
Donna Olympia sivays most, and has the highest As- 
cendant over him. Huwett, Letters, iv. 48. 
4f. To advance steadily. 
Let us suay on and face them in the field. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 24. 
Tq away up (naut.), to pull a rope so as to raise some- 
thing ; throw a strain on a mast-rope, to start the mast 
upward, so that the fid may be taken out before lowering 
the mast. 
II. trans. 1. To cause to move backward and 
forward; wave or swing; hence, to wield with 
the hand. 
