swink 
II. trans. To cause to toil or drudge; tire 
with labor; overlabor. 
The swink'd hedger at his supper sat. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 293. 
SWinkt (swingk), H. [< ME. swink, < AS. aemrim: 
labor; from the verb.] Toil; labor; drudgery. 
Of my sirink yet blered is myn ye. 
Chaucer, Pro}, to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 170. 
swinkert (swing'ker), . [< ME. gwinkerc; < 
Hinink + -erl.] A laborer. 
A trewe turuntere and a good was he. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 531. 
swinney, Same as sweeny. 
swipe (swip), r. i. and t. ; pret. and pp. swiped, 
ppr. swiping. [In earlier use with a short vowel, 
as if mod. 'swip; < ME. swippen (pret. swipte), < 
AS. swipian, move quickly, = Icel. svipa, move 
quickly, swoop, also whip ; akin to sweep, swoop, 
swift. ] 1 . To strike with a long or wide sweep- 
ing blow; deliver a hard blow or stroke with 
the full swing of the arms ; strike or drive with 
great force. [Colloq.] 
Swivte hire of that heaued. 
Life of St. Katherine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2452. 
The flint ball of the over Jack steps out and meets, 
simping with all his force. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, ii. 8. 
A vulgar but strong expression in the South for a se- 
vere beating is "He swiped up the very earth with him," 
or "He sicipeil the whole thing out" in these cases 
meaning about the same as sweep. 
Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XVII. 45. 
2f. To drink, or drink off, hastily. 
swipe (swip), . [< ME. swipe = Icel. svipr, a 
swoop, a glimpse, look: see swipe, r.] 1. Same 
as sweep. 10. 2. A hard blow; a stroke with 
the full swing of the arms, as in cricket or golf. 
[Colloq.] 
Swipe, "a blow," as "Jack made a swipe at him with his 
knife," though not very elegant, is not uncommon in some 
parts of the South, and doubtless West also. 
Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XVII. 44. 
In driving for Tel-el-Kebir [a golf-hole), Kirk had a long 
swipe off the tee. The Field, Sept 4, 1886, p. 377. 
swipe-beam (swlp'bem), . The counterpoise 
lever of a drawbridge. 
swiper (swi'per), . [< swipe + -er' 1 .] One 
who swipes; one who gives a strong blow. 
[Colloq.] 
Jack Haggles, the long-stop, toughest and burliest of 
boys, commonly called "Swiper Jack." 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, ii. S. 
swipes (swips), >i. [Also su'ypes ; < swipe, r.] 
Poor, washy beer ; a kind of small beer; hence, 
by extension, malt liquor in general. [Vulgar.] 
The twopenny is undeniable; but it is small swipes 
small swipes more of hop than malt with your leave 
I'll try your black bottle. Scott, Redgauntlet, letter xiii. 
SWipey (swi'pi), . [< swipe + -#!.] Drunk, 
especially with malt liquor. [Slang.] 
"He ain't ill. He's only a little rtripey, you know." Mr. 
Bailey reeled in his boots to express intoxication. 
Dickfns, Martin Chuzzlewit, xxviii. 
swiple, ". See swipple. 
swippet, v- See swipe. 
swipper (swip'er), n. [Sc. , also swippert; < ME. 
sweper, swypyr; cf . Icel. svipall, svipttll, agile (f ), 
shifty, changeable, < svipa, swoop : see swipe.] 
Nimble ; quick. [Obsolete or prov. Eng.] 
Swypyr, or delyvyr. Agilis. Prompt. Pan., p. 484. 
swipple (swip'l), w. [Also, less prop., swiple, 
also swipel, Sc. contr. souple, soople; < swipe + 
-le. a formative.] That part of the flail that 
falls upon the grain in threshing. Also swingle. 
swire (swir), i. [< ME. swire, swyre, sioeore, 
swere, sweere. swiere, swyer, < AS. swyra, swira, 
swura, sweora = Icel. sriri, the neck.] If. The 
neck. 
Heo makede him faire chere, 
And tok him abute the swere. 
King Horn (E. E. T. S.), 1. 404. 
For to rent in many place 
Hir clothis, and for to tere hir swire. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 325. 
2. A depression on the crest of a mountain or 
hill ; a hollow between two hills. Also written 
swyre, sware. 
SWirl (swerl), r. [< Norw. svirla, whirl round, 
freq. ofsverra = Sw. svirra = Dan. svirre, whirl, 
orig. hum, = G. schwirren, whir, chirp. Cf. 
whirl as related to whir.] I. intrans. To form 
eddies; whirl in eddies; have a whirling mo- 
tion ; whirl about. 
He ... sat for several hours on a bench looking at the 
muddy current as it swirled by. 
J. Hawthorne, Dust, p. 337. 
And the straw in the yard swirling round and round. 
R. D. Blackmore, Loma Doone, xli. 
6116 
II. trans. To give a whirling motion to. 
The lower fall, though less exposed, was yet violently 
swirled and torn and thrashed about in its narrow canon. 
The Century, XL. 498. 
swirl (swerl), n. [< swirl, v.] 1. A whirling 
motion; an eddy, as of water; gyration; whirl. 
Headlong I darted ; at one eager swirl 
Gain'd its bright portal. Keats, Endymion, iii. 
There was a rush and a swirl along the surface of the 
stream, and " Caiman ! caiman ! " shouted twenty voices ; 
. . . the moonlight shone on a great swirling eddy, while 
all held their breaths. Kingsley, Westward Ho, xxv. 
Hence 2. Specifically, in angling, the rush of 
a fish through the water when it rises to a fly. 
3. A twist or convolution, as in the grain of 
wood; a curl; a spot marked by swirling. 4. 
Same as swire, 2. 
Another word used in the Lake District with the mean- 
ing of "pass," or depression in a mountain range, is swirl 
(spelled also swirrel), as seen in the names "Swirl Band," 
Helvellyn, and "Swirl Edge," near Coniston. 
J. D. Whitney, Names and Places, p. 138. 
SWirly (swer'li), a. [Also swirlie; < swirl + -!.] 
1. Whirling; eddying, as a stream. 2. Full 
of contortions or twists ; entangled : applied 
to grass, etc. [Scotch.] 3. Full of knots: 
knaggy. Burns, Halloween. 
swirt (swfert), r. A dialectal form of squirt. 
swish (swish), v. [Imitative ; cf. swash^, switch.] 
1. trans. 1. To flog; lash. [Slang.] 
Having to hide behind a haystack to smoke a penny 
cigar, with constant anticipation of being caught and 
swished. E. Yates, Fifty Years of London Life, I. ii. 
2. To flourish; brandish; make quick, cutting 
motions with; switch. 
And backward and forward he swished his long tail 
Asa gentleman swishes his cane. 
Coleridge, The Devil's Thoughts (ed. 1799). 
3. To affect by swishing: as, to swish off the 
heads of flowers with a cane. 
II. intrans. To move, or make a movement, 
with a swash or flourish, or with a sound like 
the washing of small waves on the shore, or of 
swift movement through the air, of which the 
word swish is imitative. 
The rustic who was . . . swishing through the grass with 
his scythe . . . looked up. 
0. W. Holmes, Elsie Venner, x. 
I lingered in the lane, where the ferns began to have a 
newer look, and on the bridge over the little river, bordered 
by yellow-tasseled willows and swishing with a pleasant 
murmur against its grassy banks. 
The Atlantic, I. Ml I. 718. 
swish (swish), n. [< swish, v.] 1. A sound as 
of water lapping the shore, or of swift move- 
ment through the air ; a rustling. 
The air was musical with the song of birds, the swish 
of the scythe. New York Tribune, Sept 2, 1879. 
The iirish and splash of the waves. 
ScrUmer's Mag., VIII. 27:.. 
2. A swish-broom. 
swish (swish), adr. [An elliptical use of swish, 
n.] In a swishing manner, or with a swishing 
sound; with a swish. [Colloq.] 
Swish went the whip ; the buggy gaveajerk and whirled 
quickly past her. Scnbner's Mag., VIII. 565. 
swish-broom (swish'brom), .. A small broom, 
usually made of cane-cuttings or of twigs 
bunched together, and having a handle like 
that of a hearth-broom, it is used for various pur- 
poses In the arts, as for sprinkling water upon fires by 
blacksmiths, for cleaning pots and vessels by varnish- 
makers, etc. 
SWisher (swish'er), ii. [< swish + -er 1 .] One 
who swishes or flogs. [Colloq.] 
A desperate swisher the doctor, as I had cause to know, 
and not overburdened, to my thinking, with tact, Judg- 
ment, or impartiality. 
E. Yates, Fifty Years of London Life, I. ii. 
swish-swash (swish'swosh), . [< swish + 
swash; or a varied reduplication of swish. 
Also swish-swish.] 1. A swishing action or 
sound ; a swish. 
The frequent swish-swish of the water. 
M. Scott, Tom Cringle's Log, viii. 
2. Slops; a wishy-washy beverage. 
There is a kind of swishswash made also In Essex, and 
diuerse other places, with honicombs and water, which 
the homelie countrie wiues, putting some pepper and a 
little other spice among, call mead. 
Harrison, Descrip. of Eng., Ii. 6. 
The small sour swish-swash of the poorer vintages of 
France. S. DoweU, Taxes in England, IV. 55. 
Swiss (swis), a. and . [= F. Suisse, < G. 
Schweiz, Switzerland, Schweizer, a Swiss. Cf. 
Swisser.] I. a. Of or belonging to Switzer- 
land or the Swiss. Swiss cambric, a fine variety 
of Swiss muslin. Swiss darning, a kind of darning in 
i of the Papal Swiss 
rd about 1800. 
switch 
which the peculiar texture of stockinet is imitated. 
Swiss drill. See drilli. Swiss embroidery, (a) 
Needlework in white on 
white, especially in wash- 
able materials : common in 
Switzerland. (6) An imita- 
tion of this, made by ma- 
chinery, which has to a 
great extent superseded the 
real needlework. Swiss 
guards, bodies of merce- 
nary soldiers recruited from 
Switzerland, long in the ser- 
vice of France and other 
countries. These merce- 
naries continued to be em- 
ployed in Naples and else- 
where in the nineteenth 
century, although the prac- 
tice was disapproved by the 
Swiss federal and cantonal 
authorities. A small com- 
pany of Swiss guards is still 
in the pay of the Pope at 
Rome. Swiss head- 
dress, a head-dress sup- 
posed to be imitated from 
the customary way of wear- 
ing the hair of the peasant 
wotnen in some cantons of 
Switzerland: as usually un- 
derstood, it consists of two 
long plaits behind tied with 
ribbons, as is usual in many 
parts of Germany. In France 
the wearing of the hair loose over the shoulders is often 
similarly designated. Swiss melilot, a plant, Trigonella 
coerulea. Swiss muslin, light and thin cotton cloth 
made in Switzerland, where the manufacture has been 
established for a long period ; especially, such cloth hav- 
ing a simple pattern of dots or small sprigs. Swiss pine. 
See iptnei. Swiss plover or sandpiper, Squatarala hel- 
vetica, a large plover having four toes like a sandpiper : an 
old book-name. See cut under Sqvatarola. Swiss stone- 
pine. See stone-pine, under pinei. Swiss sword. See 
swordl. Swiss tapeworm, the broad tape, Bothrioce- 
phaluslatus. Swiss tea. Seeteai. 
II. n. [Plural formerly Swisses, now Swiss.] 
A native or an inhabitant of Switzerland, a re- 
public of Europe, surrounded by France, Italy, 
and the Austrian and German empires. 
The fortune of the Swisses of late years, which are bred 
in a barren and mountainous country, is not to be forgot- 
ten. Bacon, Speech for Naturalization, Works (ed. 
[Spedding), X. 324. 
Swissert (swis'er), . An obsolete form of 
Switzer. 
Leading three thousand muster'd men in pay, 
Of French, Scots, Alman, Swisser, and the Dutch ; 
Of native English, fled beyond the sea, 
Whose number neer amounted to as much. 
Drayton, Barons' Wars, is. 17. 
swissing (swis'ing), n. [Verbal n. of 'siciss, v.] 
In bleaching, the calendering of bleached cloths 
after dampening the goods, as performed by 
passing them between pairs of rollers techni- 
cally called bowls. One of each pair is made of com- 
pressed paper sheets, and the other is a hollow steam- 
heated iron cylinder the action of these rollers being 
that of pressure or friction, or both. 
switch (swich), n. [Formerly also swich; an 
assibilated form of *swick. < MD. swick, a whip, 
a switch, also a brandishing, < swicken, swing, 
wag ; cf . Icel. sreigr, svigi = Norw. si'ige, sveg = 
Sw. sveg, a switch; connected with Sw. sviga, 
bend; cf. sway, swing. With swing is ult. con- 
nected MD. swanck, a switch, < sicancken, D. 
zwanken, bend.] 1. A small flexible twig or 
rod. 
Bell. Shall 's to horse? here 's a tickler ; heigh, to horse ! 
May. Come, switch and spurs ! let 's mount our chevals ; 
merry, quoth a'. Dekker and Webster, Northward Ho, iv. 3. 
She had cut a willow snitch in her morning's walk, al- 
most as long as a boy's fishing-rod. 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xxxi. 
2. A mechanical device for shifting a moving 
body, or a current of electricity, etc., from one 
course or track to another. Specifically (a) In 
railroads, in its simplest form, two parallel lengths of rails 
joined together by rods, pivoted at one end, and free to 
move at the other end, forming a part of the track at its 
junction with a branch or siding. 1 he switch-rails rest on 
metal plates laid on the sleepers, and, by means of a rod 
fastened to their free ends, can be moved sidewise. The 
ends of the next pair of rails and the ends of the first pair 
of the siding or branch are placed side by side, so that by 
the movement of the switch either pair may be brought in 
line with the track, and any car or engine passing the switch 
will be guided upon the rails to which the switch is direct- 
ed. Such a switch may be used to connect several lines of 
rails. The objection to this form of switch is that a car 
moving on a track not connected with the switch is liable 
to be derailed by running off the open ends of the track. 
This has led to the adoption of safety-switches, of which 
there are various forms. One of the most common of these 
is the split siritch, in which the ends of the rails, instead of 
being square, are drawn out (split) to a thin edge so as to 
lie close against the side of the next rail. The narrow rails 
used are flexible and are fitted with springs, so that in the 
event of a displacement of the switch the lateral pressure 
of the wheels will cause the points to move back and thus 
keep the wheels on the line, the points returning to their 
original position by the recoil of the springs. Another 
form of safety-switch is designed to keep unbroken the 
