Sweet-breasted (swet brest-ed), a. Sweet rom breast, in the old sense of muDice Sweet-breasted as the nightr thrush. Beau & FL Sweet-brier, Sweet-briar (swēt'bri-èr), n. permisu, a bushy species of rose in smail leaves and flowers, a native of Spain, rowing in open bushy places, and Mackable for the sweet balsamic smell of is caves, ou account of which it is often ated in hedges and shrubberies. Sweet-calabash (swet-kal'a-bash), n. A Wese Indian species of passion-flower (Passpora naliformis), producing large flowers as a round edible fruit. Sweet-calamus, Sweet-cane (swet-kal'adas swet kan), n. An aromatic plant, sometimes called Lemon-grass and Spike

Sweet-cicely (swet-sis'è-li), n. A plant of the cnus Myrrhis (M. odorata). See MYR

A shrub of A variety of

Sweet-cistus (swet-sis'tus), n. The genus Cistus (C. villosus). Sweet-corn (swet korn), n. ice, of a sweet taste. Sweeten (swet'n), v. t. [Sweet, and verbforming suffix en, to make.] 1. To make sweet to the taste.

Serien your tea, and watch your toast. Swift.

2. To make pleasing or grateful to the mind; as, to sweeten life; to sweeten friendship.— 3. To make mild or kind.

Devotion softens his heart, enlightens his mind, avions his temper. W. Law.

4. To make less painful.

And she thy cares will sweeten with her charms.
Dryden.

3. To increase the agreeable qualities of; as, to sweeten the joys or pleasures of life.6. To soften to the eye; to make delicate. Correggio has made his name immortal by the streath he has given to his figures, and by sweeten his lights and shades. Dryden.

7. To make pure and wholesome by destroying noxious matter; as, to sweeten rooms or apartments that have been infected; to sweeten the air. 8. To make mellow and fertile; as, to dry and sweeten soils.-9. To restore to purity; as, to sweeten water, butter, or meat.

Sweeten (swet'n), v.i. To become sweet.

Where a wasp hath bitten in a grape, or any fruit, it will sweeten hastily.

Васон.

SWEET-POTATO

Sweetening (swēt'n-ing), n. 1. The act of one who sweetens.-2. That which sweetens. Sweet-fern (swēt'fèrn), n. A small North American shrub, having sweet-scented or aromatic leaves resembling fern-leaves (Comptonia asplenifolia). Goodrich. Sweet-flag (swet'flag), n. A plant of the genus Acorus (A. Calamus). See SWEET

RUSH.

Sweet-gale (swēt'gāl), n. A plant of the genus Myrica (M. Gale), called also Dutch Myrtle (which see).

Sweet-grass (swēt'gras), n. The English name of various species of plants of the genus Glyceria (which see).

Sweet-gum (swet'gum), n. A tree of the genus Liquidambar, the L. styraciflua. Sweetheart (swet härt), n. [Said by some to be from sweet, and aug. personal suffix -art. -ard, as in braggart, drunkard, laggard, but there seems to be no foundation for this statement. It used formerly to be written as two words, and was so written in the end of the thirteenth century.] A lover male or female.

Mistress,... you must retire yourself Into some covert; take your sweetheart's hat And pluck it o'er your brows. Shak

Sweetheart (swet härt), v.t. To act the

part of a lover to; to pay court to; to gallant; as, to sweetheart a lady. [Colloq.] Sweetheart (swēt'hart), v.i. To perform the part of a lover; to act the gallant; to play the wooer; as, he is going a sweethearting. Sweeting (swēt'ing), n. 1. A sweet apple. 2. A term of endearment. "Trip no further, pretty sweeting.' Shak. Sweetish (swet'ish), a. grateful to the taste. Sweetishness (swēt'ish-nes), n. The quality of being sweetish.

Somewhat sweet or

Sweet-john (swēt'jon), n. A name sometimes given to a variety of pink (Dianthus), generally to narrow-leaved varieties of D. barbatus.

Sweet-leaf (swēt'lef), n. A small evergreen tree or shrub (Symplocos tinctoria) growing in Georgia and Carolina, the leaves of which are used for dyeing silk a bright yellow colour. They have a sweetish taste, and are much relished by cattle. Called also Horse-sugar.

Sweetly (swět'li), adv. In a sweet manner, gratefully; agreeably; harmoniously. Smelling so sweetly. Shak 'Walk softly and look sweetly. Shak. 'The Holy Spirit who sweetly and mightily ordereth all things.' Card. Manning.

He sweetly temper'd awe.
No poet ever sweetly sung
Unless he was, like Phoebus, young.

Dryden.

Swift.

Sweet-marjoram (swēt-mär′jō-ram), n. A very fragrant plant, of the genus Origanum, the O. Majorana. See MARJORAM. Sweet-maudlin (swet-mad'lin), n. A species of Achillea, the A. Ageratum. Sweetmeat (swět'mēt), n. An article of confectionery made wholly or principally of sugar; fruit preserved with sugar, as peaches, pears, melons, nuts, orange-peel, and the like.

Sweetness (swet'nes), n. The quality of being sweet, in any of its senses; as, (a) gratefulness to the taste or to the smell; fragrance; agreeableness to the ear; melody: as, sweetness of taste; sweetness of the voice (b) Delightful character possessed by polished and poetical language, usually contrasted with strength.

Keats, enchanted with the study of the Elizabethan poets, revived in his Endymion' the over-luxur sweetness of Marlowe's 'Sestiad.' Quart. Ret (c) Agreeableness of manners; gentleness. mildness; obliging civility; as, sweetness of behaviour. (d) Softness; mildness; amiability. A most amiable sweetness of temper Swift.

Sweet-oil (swēt'oil), n. Olive-oil. Sweet-pea (swēt'pē), n. Lathyrus odoratus, an annual much cultivated in our gardens on account of its showy sweet-scented flowers, two or rarely three being together on one peduncle.

Sweet potato (swēt'pō-ta-tô), n. A plant of the genus Batatas (B. edulis), nat order Convolvulaceæ. The leaves are smooth. usually hastate or three-lobed; the flowers are white externally and purplish within, disposed in clusters upon axillary footstalks. The roots are fleshy and spindle. shaped, and were formerly imported into England by way of Spain from the West Indies, and sold as a delicacy, which is the

SWEET-ROOT

potato of Shakspere and contemporary writers, the common potato being then scarcely known in Europe. See BATATAS.

Sweet potato (Batatas edulis).

Sweet-root (swět'röt), n. The liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

Sweet-rush (swet'rush), n. A plant of the genus Acorus (4. Calamus), found growing in ponds, by the banks of rivers, and other wet places in England, and in the cooler parts of the Continent, of India, and of North America. From the lower part of the thick jointed rhizome or root-stock numerous roots are thrown down, while from the upper surface arise a number of swordshaped leaves, from 2 to 3 feet in length, sheathing at the base, also a long leaf-like stalk from which issues a spike of denselypacked greenish flowers. All parts of the plant, but especially the perennial rhizome (known as calamus-root), have a strong aromatic and slightly acrid taste; and hence the rhizome is used in medicine as a stimulant and tonic in some kinds of indigestion, and it is said to be useful in ague. It is also

X

Sweet-rush (Acorus Calamus).

used by confectioners as a candy; by perfumers in the preparation of aromatic vinegar and other perfumed articles, as hairpowders; and by manufacturers of beer and gin as a flavouring ingredient. Sweet-scented (swet'sent-ed), a. Having a sweet smell; fragrant. -Sweet-scented grass, a plant of the genus Anthoxanthum (4. odoratum). See SPRING-GRASS. Sweet-sop (swét'sop), n. An evergreen shrub or tree, Anona squamosa, allied to the custard-apple. It grows in the West Indies, and bears a greenish fruit, sweet and pulpy, covered with scales like a pineapple.

Sweet sultan (swet-sul'tan), n. See SUL

TAN-FLOWER.

Sweet-violet (swet-vi'o-let), n. A plant of the genus Viola, the V. odorata, a favourite flower, and a native of England. Sweet-water (swet'wa-ter), n. A variety of white grape containing a sweet watery juice Simmonds.

Same as

Sweet-william (swet-wil'yam), n. A plant of the genus Dianthus, the D. barbatus, a species of pink of many varieties, cultivated in flower-gardens. Sweet-willow (swet-wil'o), n. Sweet-gale. Sweet-wood (swet'wyd). n. 1. Another name for the Laurus nobilis, or sweet-bay. See LAUREL-2. The timber of Oreodaphne zaltata, a tree growing in Jamaica. Sweetwort (swet'wert), n. Any plant of a sweet taste.

279

Sweet-wort (swet'wert), n. A sweet infusion of malt for brewing; the saccharine infusion produced by mashing.

Swegh, n. [See SWAY.] A violent motion. Chaucer.

See SWAINMOTE.

Sweinmote, n.
Swell (swel), v. i. pret. swelled; pp. swelled
or swollen. Swollen is now more frequently
used as an adjective. [A. Sax. swellan,
pret. sweal, sweoll, pp. swollen, to swell, to be
tumid; Icel. svella, to swell, to grow wrath-
ful; D. zwellen, G. schwellen, to swell, dilate,
&c. Origin doubtful; perhaps same word
as well, to bubble up, with an intens. 8.
Some connect it with L. salum, the sea.]
1. To grow bulkier; to dilate or extend the
exterior surface or dimensions by matter
added within, or by expansion of the in-
closed substance; as, the legs swell in dropsy;
a bruised part swells; a tumour swells; a
bladder swells by inflation.-2. To increase
in size or extent by any addition; as, a river
swells and overflows its banks.-3. To rise
or be driven into waves or billows; as, in a
tempest, the ocean swells into waves. The
swelling Adriatic seas.' Shak.-4. To be in-
flated; to belly, as sails.-5. To protuberate;
to bulge out; as, a cask swells in the middle.
6. To rise in altitude; as, land swells into
hills.-7. To be puffed up with some feeling;
to show outwardly elation or excitement;
hence, to strut; to look big; as, to swell with
pride, anger, rage, or the like.

Here he comes swelling like a turkey cock. Shak.
Your equal mind yet swells not into state. Dryden.
You swell at the tartan, as the bull is said to do at
scarlet.
Sir W. Scott.

8. To rise and gather; to well up. "The tears that swell in me.' Shak.--9. To grow and increase in the mind. 'The unseen grief that swells with silence in the tortured soul.' Shak. 10. To become larger in amount; as, many little debts added swell to a great sum.-11. To gain or increase in Swell (swel), v.t. intensity, strength, or volume, as sound. 1. To increase the size, bulk, or dimensions of; to cause to rise, dilate, or increase; as, rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring, and cause floods. The water swells a man.' Shak.-2. To aggravate; to heighten.

It is low ebb with the accuser, when such peccadillos are put to swell the charge. Atterbury. 3. To inflate; to puff up; to raise to arrogance. 'If it did swell my thoughts to any strain of pride.' Shak.

The king of men, who, swoln with pride,
Refused his presents, and his prayers denied.
Dryden.

4. To increase gradually the intensity, force, or volume of; as, to swell a tone. Swell (swel), n. 1. The act of swelling; rise; gradual increase; as, (a) augmentation in bulk; a dilating or bulging. (b) Elevation; rise referring to height. (c) Increase of strength, intensity, or volume: referring to sound. And when music arose with its voluptuous swell.' Byron. (d) Increase of power in style; increase of rhetorical force. The swell and subsidence of his periods.' Landor. 2. An elevation of land; a rounded height; an undulation; as, a wide plain abounding with little swells.-3. A succession of long unbroken waves setting in one direction, as after a storm; the waves or fluctuations of the sea after a storm; a billow; a surge; as, a heavy swell is setting into the harbour.-4. In music, (a) a gradual increase and decrease in the volume of sound; the crescendo and diminuendo combined. (b) The sign

which indicates increase and decrease in the volume of sound. (c) An arrangement in an organ (and in some harmoniums) whereby the player can increase or diminish the intensity of the sound at will. In the organ it consists of a series of pipes with a separate key-board, and forming a separate deThe partment (called the swell-organ). loudness or softness of the tone is regulated by opening or shutting, by means of a pedal, a set of slats like a Venetian blind, which forms part of the frame in which the pipes are inclosed.-5. A slang word applied sometimes in a laudatory sense to a person of high standing or of great mark or importance, but more generally in a depreciatory sense to a showy, dashing, assuming person, as a fashionable person, a dandy, a fop, or the like.

Bruce can't be such a swell as one fancied. He's only taken a second. Farrar. Swell (swel), a. Pertaining to a swell or swells; characterized by more or less showi

SWERVE

ness in dress; showily or assumingly genteel; dandifled. [Slang.]

We don't know many people here yet. 'Tis rather a swell neighbourhood. Dean Ramsay. Swelling (swel'ing), n. 1. A tumour, or any morbid enlargement of the natural size; as, a swelling on the hand or leg.-2. Protuberance; prominence.

The superficies of such plates are not even, but have many cavities and swellings. Newton.

3. A rising or inflation, as by passion or other powerful emotion; as, the swellings of anger, grief, or pride.

Wherefore more proudly does the gentle knight Rein in the swelling of his ample might? Keats. 4. An overflow; an inundation.

Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan. Jer. xlix. 19. Swelling (swel'ing), p. and a. 1. Turgid; inflated; bombastic; as, swelling words; a swelling style.-2. Grand; pompous; magnificent. A more swelling port than my faint means would grant continuance.' Shak. Swellish (swel'ish), a. Pertaining to or characteristic of a swell or dandy; foppish; dandified; stylish; would-be fashionable or aristocratic; as, he puts on swellish airs. Swell-mob (swel'mob), n. [Colloq. or slang.] The class of pickpockets who go about genteelly dressed in order to mix in crowds, &c., with less suspicion or chance of recognition. [Slang.] He is renowned for his acquaintance with the swell-mob. Dickens. A

See SWELL,

Swell-mobsman (swel-mobz'man), n. member of the swell-mob; a genteelly-clad pickpocket. Mayhew. [Slang.] Swell-organ (swel'or-gan), n. n. 4, (c). Swelt (swelt), pret. & pp. of swell. Swelt + (swelt), v. [A. Sax. sweltan, Goth. swiltan, ga-swiltan, to perish, to die; Icel. svelta, Sw. svälta, Dan. sulte, to die, to starve; lit. to perish from heat, the root being seen in A. Sax. swelan, to burn. (See SWEAL.) Hence swelter, sweltry, sultry.] 1. To die; to perish.-2. To faint; to swoon, as by excess of heat; to broil with heat.

No wonder is though that I swelte and swete. Chaucer. Nigh she swelt for passing joy. Spenser. Swelt (swelt), v. t. To overpower, as with heat; to cause to faint; to swelter.

Is the sun to be blamed that the traveller's cloak swelts him with heat? Bp. Hall. Swelter (swel'tèr), v.i. [From swelt (which see).] 1. To be overcome and faint with heat; to be ready to perish with heat.2. To welter; to soak; as, knights sweltered in their gore. Drayton.

Swelter (swel'tèr), v. t. 1. To oppress with heat. One climate would be scorched and sweltered with everlasting dog-days. Bentley.-2. To accumulate by internal heat.

Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights hast thirty-one,
Swelter'd venom sleeping got.

Shak.

['Sweltered venom' is also explained as venom moistened with the animal's sweat.] Sweltryt (swel'tri), a. [O.E. sueltrie, from swelter (which see); hence, sultry, a slightly modified form] Suffocating with heat; oppressive with heat; sultry.

Swepe (swep), n. A large kind of oar. See
SWEEP.

Swept (swept), pret. & pp. of sweep.
Swerdt (swerd), n. Sward.
Swern.t For Sweren, † pres. tense pl. of swere
(swear). Chaucer.

Swertia (swer'ti-a), n. [In honour of Iman
Swert, a famous cultivator of bulbs and
flowers in Holland.] A genus of perennial
herbs, nat. order Gentianacer. They have
radical, nerved, ovate leaves, attenuated at
each extremity, and usually purple, star-
shaped flowers. They are natives of Central
Europe and Asia, occurring also in Northern
India. The Tartars apply the leaves to
wounds, and the Russians use an infusion
of them medicinally.
Swerve (swerv), v.i. pret. swerved; ppr.
swerving. [O.E. swarve, A. Sax. sweorfan;
same word as Icel. svarfa, to swerve, to
sweep aside, D. zwerven, to swerve, to rove,
to wander, L. G. swarven, to swerve, O.H.G.
and O. Sax. suerban, Goth. svairban, to wipe
or whisk away. According to Wedgwood
the radical image is a hum or confused
noise, whence we get that of whirling, turn-
ing aside, &c.; so that it may be connected
with swarm. In sense 4 it corresponds with

SWET

swarm, to climb.] 1. To wander; to rove; to stray; to roam; to ramble.

A maid thitherward did run To catch her sparrow which from her did swerve. Sir P. Sidney. 2. To wander from any line prescribed or from a rule of duty; to depart from what is established by law, duty, or custom; to deviate.

Nor number, nor example with him wrought To swerve from truth or change his constant mind. Milton. In the execution of their trusts they swerve from the strict letter of the law. Clarendon. Many who, through the contagion of evil example, swerve exceedingly from the rules of their holy reli gion. Atterbury.

3. To turn to one side; to bend; to incline; to waver. The battle swerved.' Milton. 'Pastoral rivulet that swerves to left and right thro' meadowy curves.' Tennyson.4. To climb or move upward by winding or turning.

The tree was high,

Yet nimbly up from bough to bough I swerv'd. Dryden. Swet (swet), pret. & pp. of sweat. [Rare.] Swete,t v.i. To sweat. Chaucer. Sweven, n. [A. Sax. swefen, from swefan, to fall asleep, to sleep; Icel. svefn, sleep. Same root as L. somnus, Gr. hypnos, sleep, Skr. svap, to sleep.] A dream. Chaucer. Dan Cupido

Sure sent thylke sweven to mine head. Old play. Swich, Swilket (swich, swilk), a. [See SUCH.] Such.

Swidder (swid'ér), n. and v. i. See SWITHER. Swietenia (swi-e-te'ni-a), n. [In honour of Gerard Van Swieten, a Dutch botanist and author.] A genus of plants, nat. order Cedrelaces, found in the hot parts of the world, forming large trees, and yielding

valuable timber. See MAHOGANY. Swift (swift), a. [A. Sax. swift, from the stem of swifan, to move quickly, to turn round, to revolve; Icel. svifa, to be carried, to glide, svif, sudden movement; D. zweven, G. schweben, Dan. svæve, to wave, to float, to hover; same root as E. sweep and swoop.] 1. Moving with great speed, celerity, velocity, or rapidity; fleet; rapid; quick; speedy. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the Eccles. ix. 11. strong. True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.

Shak.

280

chin. The beak is black, shorter than that of the swallow, and without the lateral bristles. The wings are even longer than those of the swallow, and are sickle-shaped. The tarsi are short, and feathered to the toes, which are all directed forwards. The swifts pass most of their time in the air, where they pursue their insect prey. Their flight is swift and shooting, and their scream very different from the twittering of the swallow. They build their nests in holes in the walls of houses, in rocks, and sometimes in hollow trees. The swift reaches its summer quarters later, and leaves earlier than the swallows. Another species, the white-bellied or Alpine swift (C. alpinus), is known in this country, but it is only a rare straggler. The weight of the swift is most disproportionately small to its extent of wing, the former being scarcely an ounce, the latter 18 inches, the length of the body being near 8 inches. The swift is widely spread through Europe, Asia, and Africa. The American swift (Chatura pelasgia) is smaller, has the hind-toe directed backwards, and the tail-feathers stiff as in woodpeckers. It is commonly called the chimney swallow. -4. The common newt or eft, a species of lizard.

Swifter (swift'ér), n. [Icel. sviptingr.] Naut. a rope used to confine the bars of the capstan in their sockets while men are turning it; also, a rope used to encircle a boat longitudinally to strengthen and defend her sides in collision. Swifters also are two shrouds fixed on the starboard and larboard sides of the lower masts, above all the other shrouds, to give the masts additional security. Swifter (swift'èr), v. t. Naut. to stretch, as Swiftfoot (swift'fut), a. shrouds, by tackles.

Swift of foot; The swiftfoot hare.' Mir. for

nimble. Mags. Swift-footed (swift'fut-ed), a. Fleet; swift in running.

The swift-footed martin pursued him. Arbuthnot. Swift-handed (swift'hand-ed), a.

Prompt

of action; ready to draw the sword. A swift-handed, deep-hearted race of men.' Carlyle.

Swift-heeled (swift'held), a. Swift of foot.
She takes delight
The swift-heel'd horse to praise.

Congreve.

and excellent a wit." Shak.

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Jam. i. 19.

3. Coming suddenly, without delay.

There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Pet. ii. 2.

4. Of short continuance; rapidly passing. 'Make swift the pangs of my queen's travails.' Shak.

Swift (swift), adv. In a swift or rapid manner; swiftly. Light boats sail swift.' Shak.

Swift (swift), n. 1. The current of a stream. 'He can live in the strongest swifts of the water.' Iz. Walton. [Rare.]-2. A reel or turning instrument for winding yarn.-3. The common name of birds of the genus Cypselus,

Common Swift (Cypselus apus) family Cypselidæ. They have an outward resemblance to the swallows, but differ much from them in various structural points. The common swift (C. apus) has the greatest powers of flight of any bird that visits Britain. Its colour is in general a sombre or sooty black, with a grayish-white patch under the

manner; fleetly; rapidly; with celerity; with quick motion or velocity.

Pleas'd with the passage we slide swiftly on. Dryden.

Swiftness (swift'nes), n. The state or quality of being swift; speed; rapid motion; quickness; celerity; velocity; rapidity; expedition: a word of general import, applicable to every kind of motion and to everything that moves; as, the swiftness of a bird; the swiftness of a stream; swiftness of descent in a falling body; swiftness of thought; &c.

Enforced she was to wed him in her tears
And with a shameful swiftness.

Tennyson.

Swift-winged (swift'wingd), a. Rapid in flight. Nor staying longer than one swiftwinged night.' Prior.

Swig (swig), v. t. [A. Sax. swilgan, swelgan, to swallow, to devour. The change swilg, swig, is similar to that in balg, bag. See SWILL, SWALLOW.] 1. To drink by large draughts; to drink off rapidly and greedily; as, to swig one's liquor. [Colloq.1-2.† To suck greedily. The lambkins swig the teat.' Creech.

Swig (swig), v.i. To take a swig or deep draught; as, he swigged at the bottle. [Colloq.]

Swig (swig), n. 1. A large draught. "The sailor having taken a swig at the bottle. Marryat. [Colloq.]-2. Ale and toasted bread. Latham.-3. Naut. a pulley with ropes which are not parallel. Swig (swig), v. t. [Comp. A. Sax. swigan, to be silent.] To castrate, as a ram, by binding the testicles tight with a string so that they mortify and slough off. [Local.] Swill (swil), v.t. [From A. Sax. swilian, Sc. sweel, to wash; partly influenced by the allied A. Sax. swilgan, swelgan, to swallow, G. schwelgen, to drink hard, to revel. See SWALLOW, SWIG.] 1. To wash; to drench. [Old English and Scotch.]

As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean. Shak. 2. To drink grossly or greedily. 'Devouring sliced beef and swilling port and punch.' Smollett.

Swill (swil), v. i. 1. To drink greedily; to drink to excess. South.-2. To be intoxicated.

Swill (swil), n. 1. Large draughts of liquor; or drink taken in excessive quantities.2. The wash or mixture of liquid substances, given to swine. Called also Swillings.

Give swine such swill as you have. Mortimer. Swiller (swil'èr), n. One who swills; one who drinks voraciously.

Swilley (swil'li), n. [In meaning 1 from swill; in meaning 2 doubtful.] 1. An eddy or whirlpool. [Provincial.]-2. A coal-field of small extent. [Provincial.] Swillings (swil'ingz), n. pl. Swill. Swim (swim), v.i. pret. swam or swum; pp. swum; ppr. swimming. [A. Sax. swimman, pret. swam, pl. swummon, pp. swummen; L.G. swimmen, Icel. svimma, G. schwimmen -to swim; probably connected with sound (of the sea) and with swamp. In the sense of being dizzy it is of different origin, viz. Icel. svima, to be giddy, A Sax. swima, Icel svimi, dizziness, stupor. See SQUEAMISH.) 1. To be supported on water or other fluid; to float; not to sink; as, any substance will swim whose specific gravity is less than that of the fluid in which it is immersed.-2. To move progressively in water by means of the motion of the hands and feet, or of fins. Leap in with me into this angry flood, And swim to yonder point.

3. To glide with a smooth motion.

Shak.

A hov'ring mist came swimming o'er his sight Dryden. 4. To be flooded; to be overflowed or drenched; as, the earth swims in rain.

All the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Ps. vi. 6. Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim. Thomson.

5. To overflow; to abound; to have abundance. They now swim in joy.' Milton.6. To be dizzy or vertiginous; to have giddiness; to have a sensation as if the head were turning round. Which oftentime I read, till my head swims.' Tennyson. Swim (swim), v. t. 1. To pass or cross by swimming; to move on or in by swimming: as, to swim a stream.

Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy main.
Dryden

2. To immerse in water that the lighter parts may swim; as, to swim wheat for seed.-3. To cause to swim or float; as, to swim a horse across a river.

Swim (swim), n. 1. The act of swimming: period or extent of swimming; as, to take a long swim.-2. A smooth, gliding motion.

Both the swim and the trip are properly mine; everybody will affirm it that has any judgment in dancing, I assure you. B. Jonson.

3. The air-bladder or sound of fishes. Swimmer (swim'èr), n. 1. One who swims. A solitary shriek, the bubbling cry

Of some strong swimmer in his agony. Byron. 2. A bird that swims, as the duck and goose; specifically (pl.), an order of birds. See NATATORES.-3. pl. A tribe of spiders (Araneidæ natantes) which live in water, and there spin their webs to entrap their prey.4. A protuberance on the leg of a horse. Swimmeret (swim'èr-et), n. In zool. the hinder limb or abdominal appendage of crustaceans (lobsters), in which the endopodite and exopodite are well developed. The swimmerets are used by these animals for the purpose of bearing the eggs. Swimming (swim'ing), n. 1. The act or art of sustaining and propelling the body in water A great proportion of the animal tribes are furnished with a greater or less capacity for swimming either in water or on its surface, but man is unqualified for swimming without learning to do so as an art, owing to the structure of his body. The head by its gravity naturally sinks in water, and thus causes drowning, unless it, or at least the mouth, can be kept above the surface by art. The art of swimming chiefly consists in keeping the head above water, and using the hands and feet as oars and helm. -2 Dizziness 'Taken with a grievous swimming in my head.' Dryden. Swimming-bath (swim'ing-bath), n. A bath large enough for swimming in. Swimming-bell (swim'ing-bel), n. same as Nectocalyx (which see).

In zool

Swimming-pond (swim'ing-pond), n. An artificial pond, generally with a sloping bottom, in which the art of swimming is learned or practised

Swimming-stone (swim'ing-stōn), n. A light spongy kind of quartz. Called also Floating stone.

Swindle (swin'dl), v. t. pret, & pp swindled; ppr swindling [A word introduced during last century; G. schwindeln, to act giddily, to cheat, schwindelei, fraud, schwindler, a wwindler, from schwindel, dizziness, infatuation, from same root as swoon, and A. Sax. windan, tolanguish.] To cheat and defraud grossly, or with deliberate artifice; as, to swindle a man out of his property.

Lamotte, under pretext of finding a treasure, had swindled one of them out of three hundred Carlyle. livres

Swindle (swin'd), n. The act or process of swindling; a fraudulent scheme intended to dupe people out of money; an act of cheatery; an imposition.

Swindler (swin'dler), n. One who swindles; one who defrauds grossly, or one who makes a practice of defrauding others by imposition or deliberate artifice; a cheat; a rogue. We affix to the term the character of premeditated imposition; so that a swindler comes under the cruminal code, and may be prosecuted accordingly.

James, Military Dictionary. Swine (swin), n. sing and pl. [A. Sax. swin, a widely spread word; D. zwijn, G. schwein, Dan svin, Icel. stin, Goth stein, Pol swinia, Bohem swine, same root as sow, L. sus. See Sow. An ungulate; a mammal of the genus Sus, which furnishes man with a large portion of his most nourishing food; a hog. The fat or lard of this animal enters into various dishes in cookery. The numerous varieties of the hog or swine bred in Britain are partly the result of climate and keep in the European variety, and partly the effects of crossing with the Chinese hog. Swine-bread (swin'bred), n. A kind of plant, truffle.

Swine-case, Swine-crue (swin'kās, swin'kro), n. A hog-sty; a pen for swine. Called also a Swine-cot. [Local]

Swine-drunk (swin'drungk), a. In a state of beastly intoxication; beastly drunk. Shak.

Swine-grass (swin'gras), n. A plant, knotgrass, Polygonum aciculare.

Swineherd (swin'herd), n. A herd or keeper

of swine

Swine-oat (swin'ōt), n. A kind of oats cultivated for the use of pigs, as in Cornwall; the Arena nuda of botanists. Swine-pipe (swin’pip), n. A local name of the redwing thrush (Turdus iliacus). Swine-pox (swin'poks), n. A variety of the chicken pox, with acuminated vesicles containing a watery fluid; the water-pox. Swine's-cress (swinz'kres), n. A plant of the genus Senebiera, the S. Coronopus, called als Wart-cress. See SENEBIERA

Swine's-feather (swinz'feTHerin A small spear about

in hes long, called also a Hoy Bristle, anciently used as a bayonet. The name was afterwards, in the seventeenth century, applied to a similar spear fitted into the musket rest in order to render it a defence against cavalry. Swine-stone (swin'stón), n. A name given to those kinds of limestone which, when rabbed, emit a fetid odour, resembling that of naphtha combined with sulphuretted

by irogen. 178 Swine-sty (swio'sti), n. A sty or pen for

See ANTHRACON- Swine's-feather.

swine

Swine-thistle (swin'this-1), n. A plant, the Bow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus).

281

Swing (swing), v.i. pret. & pp. swung; ppr. swinging. [A.Sax. swingan, pret. swang, pp. swungen, to beat, to dash, to scourge, whence swengan, to shake, to vibrate; cog. L.G. swingen, Dan. svinge, Sw. swinga, G. schwingen. Swinge is a somewhat modified form, swingle is a derivative, and swink, sway, swag connected forms.] 1. To move to and fro, as a body suspended in the air; to wave; to vibrate; to oscillate.

I tried if a pendulum would swing faster, or continue swinging longer in our receiver, if exhausted. Boyle.

2. To practise swinging; to fly backward and forward, as on a suspended rope; as, a man swings for health or pleasure.-3. Naut. to move or float round with the wind or tide, as a ship riding at a single anchor.4. To be hanged; to be suspended by the neck. [Colloq.]

I prophesy that before long you and your nasty cur will both swing together. Marryat.

Swing (swing), v. t. 1. To make to sway or oscillate loosely; to cause to vibrate or wave, as a body suspended in the air.

They get on ropes, as you must have seen the children, and are swung by their men visitants. Steele.

2. To whirl round in the air; to wave; to move to and fro; to brandish; to flourish; as, a man swings his arms when he walks. Swing thee in the air, then dash thee down. Milton.

The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared, Which, as he breathed defiance to my ears, He swung about his head and cut the winds. Shak. He swings his tail, and swiftly turns him round. Dryden. -To swing a ship, to bring the ship's head to each point of the compass in succession, in order to correct the compass by ascertaining the amount of local deviation. Swing (swing), n. 1. The act of swinging; a waving or vibratory motion of a thing suspended and hanging loose; oscillation; motion from one side to the other; the sweep of a moving body; as, some people walk with a swing; the swing of a pendulum. 2. A line, cord, &c., suspended and hanging loose, and on which something may swing or oscillate; also, an apparatus suspended for persons to swing in, generally consisting of a seat suspended in the loop of a rope, the two ends of which are attached overhead.

Some set up swings in the streets, and get money of those who will swing in them. Dampier.

3. Influence or power of a body to which is given a swaying motion.

The ram that batters down the wall, For the great swing and rudeness of his poise, They place before his hand that made the engine. Shak. 4. Free course; abandonment to any motive; unrestrained liberty or license. swing. Dryden.

Let them all take their swing
To pillage the king.

Take thy

Swift.

Swing-beam (swing′bēm), n. In railway mach. a cross-piece sustaining the body of the carriage, and so suspended from the framing of a truck that it may have an independent lateral motion. Goodrich. Swing-boat (swing'bōt), a. A boat-shaped carriage slung from a frame, swinging in which is a favourite amusement with young people at fairs, &c.

All the caravans and swing-boats, and what not, used to assemble there. Mayhew.

Swing-bridge (swingʻbrij), n. A form of bridge that may be moved by swinging, so as to afford passage for ships on a river, canal, at the mouth of docks, &c. A usual form consists of two sections, each of which, when opened, is landed on its own side of the water, the extended ends of the two meeting in the middle and affording a bridge across. Another form is when the whole bridge is swung to one side; and a third, where the whole bridge rotates from its centre on a pier in the middle of the waterway, so as to make a passage on each side of it. Called also Swivel-bridge, Pivotbridge.

SWING-TREE

Swinge (swinj), v.t. pret. & pp. swinged; ppr. swingeing. [A. Sax. swingan, to swing, to whip. See SWING.] 1. To beat soundly; to whip; to chastise; to punish. And swinges his own vices in his son.' Dryden. Now will he be swinged for reading my letter. Shak.

2. To move, as a lash; to lash. He, wroth to see his kingdom fail, Swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail. Milton. Swinget (swinj), n. 1. A sway. That whilom here bare swinge among the best.' Mir. for Mags.-2. A swing; the sweep of anything in motion.

The shallow water doth her force infringe,
And renders vain her tail's impetuous swinge
Waller.

Swinget (swinj), v.t. To singe. Spenser.
Swinget (swinj), n. A singe. Beau. & Fl
Swinge - buckler (swinj'buk-lêr), n. A
swash-buckler; a riotous fellow; a roisterer.

You had not four such swingebucklers in all the inns of court again.

Shak.

Swingeing (swinj'ing), a. [It is customary to associate the idea of greatness or size with that of a heavy blow. See WHOPPER. } Great; huge. A swingeing sum.' Arbuth not. A swingeing recompense.' Byron. [Colloq]

Swingeingly (swinj'ing-li), adv. Hugely; vastly; greatly. [Colloq.] Swingel (swing'el), n.

* Το

That part of a flail that falls upon the grain in threshing; a swiple. [Local.] Swinger (swing'èr in meaning 1, swinj'er in 2 and 3), n. 1. One who swings; one who hurls. 2. One who swinges.-3. Anything very great or astonishing; a stunner. make the wassaile a swinger.' Herrick. Swinging (swing'ing), p. and a. 1. Moving to and fro; oscillating; waving; brandishing. 2. Huge; very large; swingeing. [Colloq.] Swinging-boom (swing'ing-bom), n. Naut. the span which distends the foot of a lower studding-sail.

Swingingly (swing'ing-li), adv. Vastly; hugely. [Colloq.]

A saw

Swinging-saw (swing'ing-sa), n. swinging in an arc from an axis overhead. Swingism (swingʻizm), n. The practices of those agitators who, from 1830 to 1833, were in the habit of sending threatening letters signed 'Swing' or 'Captain Swing' to farmers, landed proprietors, &c., commanding them to give up the use of the thrashingmachine, to pay a higher wage to their employees, and the like, and in case of noncompliance threatening the destruction of the obnoxious person's property; incendiarism in the fancied promotion of the interests of agricultural labourers.

Thus, at one time, we have burking-at another, swingism-now suicide is in vogue, &c. Ld. Lytton. Swing-knife (swing'nif), n. Same as Swinglestaff.

Swingle (swing'gl), v.i. [A freq. from swing.] To dangle; to wave hanging.-2. To swing for pleasure.

Swingle (swing'gl), v. t. pret. & pp. swingled; ppr. swingling. [A freq. of swing, A Sax. swingan, to swing, to swinge.] 1. To beat; to scutch or clean, as flax, by beating it with a wooden instrument resembling a large knife. [Provincial.]-2. To cut off the tops of without pulling up the roots, as weeds. Swingle (swing'gl), n. 1. A scutcher; a swingle-staff.-2. In wire-working, a wooden spoke fixed to the barrel that draws the wire.-3. One of the spokes in the roller of a plate-press.-4. Same as Swingel. Swingle-staff, Swingling-knife (swing'gl staf, swing'gling-nif), n. Different names of an instrument formerly used for beating flax or hemp, in order to separate the shives or woody part from the fibres; a scutcher. This is effected now by machinery. Called also Swingle, Swing-knife, Swingling-staff, Swingling-wand. Swingle-tree (swing'gl-tre), n. Same as Swing-tree.

Swingle wand (swing'gl-wond), n. A swingle-staff.

Swingling - machine (swing'gling - mashen"), n. A machine for swingling flax. Swingling-staff (swing'gling-staf), n. SWINGLE-STAFF.

See

Swingling - tow (swing'gling-tó), n. The coarse part of flax separated from the finer by swingling and hatcheling. Swing-plough (swing'plou), n. Any plough without wheels.

Swing-tree (swing'tre), n. A cross-bar by which a horse is yoked to a carriage, plough,

Swinishness (swin'ish-nes), n. Quality of being swinish.

Swinkt (swingk), v. i. [A. Sax. swincan, to labour: a slightly different form of swingan, to beat, to labour. See SWING.] To labour; to toil; to drudge. They do swink and sweat. Spenser.

Swinkt (swingk), t. To overlabour; to cause to toil or drudge; to tire with labour.

The swink'd hedger at his supper sat. Milton. Swink (swingk), n. Labour; toil; drudg ery. Spenser.

Swinker (swingk'er), n. A labourer; a ploughman.

Swipe (swip), n. [Also written swape, sweep; from stem of sweep, swoop; comp. Icel. svipa, a whip.] Same as Swape.

Swipe (swip), v. t. and i. pret. & pp. swiped; ppr. swiping. [See above.] To strike with a long or wide sweeping blow; to deliver a hard blow or stroke with the full swing of the arms; to strike or drive with great force.

The first ball of the over, Jack steps out and meets, swiping with all his force. T. Hughes.

Swipes (swips), n. pl. [O.E. swipe, to drink off hastily; Dan. svip, thin and tasteless beer, swipes; G. schwappen, schweppen, to splash, dunnes geschwepe, thin watery beer.] Poor washy beer; a kind of small-beer; taplash. Written also Swypes. [Vulgar.]

The twopenny is undeniable; but it is small swypes -small swypes-more of hop than malt-with your leave I'll try your black bottle. Sir W. Scott.

Swipey (swi'pi), a. Drunk; intoxicated. Household Words. [Slang.] Swiple (swip'l), n. [From swipe. See SWIPE, n. and v.t.] The effective end-piece of a flail; a swingel: called in Scotland a souple. Swipper (swip'er), a. [Icel. svipal, svipull, agile, from svipe, to move quickly; same stem as sweep, swoop.] Nimble; quick. [Provincial English.]

Swire (swir), n. [A. Sax. swira, swŷra, swura, sweora, the neck; Icel sviri, the neck.]

1. The neck.-2. The declination of a mountain or hill near the summit; a hollow between two hills. Also written Swyre. [Old English and Scotch in both senses.] Swirl (swerl), v. i. [Dan, svirre, to whirl, to turn round; the root may be the same as that of swerve. Whirl probably has had some influence on the form.] To form eddies; to whirl in eddies.

The river swirled along, glassy no more, but dingy gray with autumn rains and rotting leaves.

Kingsley. Swirl (swêrl), n. A whirling motion; an eddy, as of water; gyration; whirl; a twist or contortion in the grain of wood; a curl. The swirl of those spumy and his ing waves.' Farrar.

The silent swirl

Of bats that seem to follow in the air Some grand circumference of a shadowy dome. E. B. Browning. Swirlie (swir’li), a. 1. Full of contortions or twists; entangled: applied to grass, &c. 2. Full of knots; knaggy. A swirlie, auld moss-oak.' Burns. [Scotch.]

Swish (swish), v.t. [Allied to switch.] To flog; to lash; as, he was most deservedly swished. [Slang.]

Swiss (swis), n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Switzerland.-2. The language of Switzerland.

Swiss (swis), a. Of or belonging to Switzerland or the Swiss.-Swiss muslin, a fine, open, transparent cotton fabric. Switch (swich), n.

[Comp. L.G. zwukse, swutsche, a switch, according to Wedgwood from the swishing sound made by a pliant rod in passing rapidly through the air. Rather the same word as Icel. svigi, sveigr, a switch-from root of swing, swinge.] 1. A small flexible twig or rod.

On the medal, Mauritania leads a horse by a thread with one hand, and in the other holds a switch. Addison.

2. In rail. a contrivance for transferring

282

a railway train or part of it from one line of rails to another. Switches are pieces of railway bars movable upon joints at one end, and applied at the points of junction between two lines of rails, for the purpose of guiding the wheels of the carriages from the one to the other. They are susceptible of considerable variety of form and application. They may be either single or double, self-acting or worked by hand, &c. The annexed woodcut at once illustrates the principle and gives an example of a very common arrangement of single switch; a a is the straight, and bb the diverging line of rails; c the switch, laid upon broad flat chairs, and turning on a joint at one extremity; cd, a rod joining the end of the switch to the switch handle in the box d, from which the switch is moved, the wheels being guided by such movement upon the diverging line, as may be required; ae is the point (not movable) on the other

side of the way; ff the guard-rail for guiding the wheels. See RAILWAY.-3. In teleg. a device for connecting one circuit with another, or for dividing a circuit into two parts, or for altering any of the connections of a line or circuit; a shunt.-4. A cue of false hair, or of some substance made to resemble hair, fastened together at one end and worn by ladies.

Switch (swich), v.t. 1. To strike with a small twig or rod; to beat; to lash.-2. In rail. to transfer by a switch; to transfer from one line of rails to another. - 3. In elect. to shift to another circuit; to shunt. Switch (swich), v.i. To walk with a jerk. Switchel (swich'el), n. A beverage made of molasses and water. [United States.] Switching (swich'ing), n. 1. Shunting. 2. A beating with a switch-Switching of hedges, the cutting off of the one year's growth which protrudes from the sides of the hedges.

An in

Switching-bill (swich'ing-bil), n. strument used in pruning hedges. Switchman (swich'man), n. One who has charge of the switches on a railway; a points

man.

Swith, Swithe (swith), adv. [A. Sax. swith, strong, very, very much; Icel. svithr, prompt, quick; Goth. swinths, strong.] Instantly; quickly; speedily; promptly. [Old English and Scotch.]

My Ladye reads you swith return. Sir W. Scott. Swith (swith), interj. Begone; be off. [Scotch.]

Swither, Swidder (swiTH'êr, swid'èr), n. [Etym. doubtful. Comp. Icel. svithra, to burn.] Doubt; hesitation; perplexity; state of irresolute wavering. A hank'ring swither Burns. [Scotch.] Swither (swiTH'èr), v. i. 1. To emit a whirring sound; to whiz. [Scotch.] Hogg. 2. To doubt; to hesitate. [Scotch.] Written also Swidder. A native of SwitzerSwitzert (swit'zėr), n. land; a Swiss; specifically, in hist. one of a hired body-guard attendant on a king.

Where are my Switzers Let them guard the door. Shak.

Swivet (swiv), v t. and i. [A. Sax. swifan,

SWOOP

to move quickly.] To perform the act of copulation with; to have sexual intercourse. Chaucer.

Swivel (swiv'el), n. [A freq. form, from A. Sax. swifan, to move quickly, to be turned round, to revolve; O. Fris. swiva, to be unsteady, to move about; Icel svif, a quick turn, sveifla, to set in circular motion; M.H.G. swifen, O.HI.G. suifan, to be turned round. Akin sweep, swift.] 1. A fastening

Swivel.

so contrived as to allow the thing fastened to turn freely round on its axis; a piece fixed to a similar piece, or to any body, by a pin, or otherwise, so as to revolve or turn freely in any direction; a twisting link in a chain consisting of a ring or hook ending in a headed pin which turns in a link of the chain so as to prevent kinking -2. Milit. a small cannon or piece of artillery, fixed in a swivel in such a manner as to be turned in any direction.-3. In saddlery, a loop or runner through which the check-rein passes E. H. Knight.

Swivel (swivel), v. i. To turn on a staple. pin, or pivot.

Swivel-eye (swiv'el-i), n. A squint-eye.

She found herself possessed of what is colloquially termed a swivel-eye. Dickens.

Swivel-eyed (swiv'el-id), a. Squint-eyed. Swivel-gun (swiv'el-gun), n. Same as Swivel, 2.

Swivel-hook (swiv'el-hök), n. A hook that turns in the end of a block strap, for readily taking the turns out of a tackle.-Swivel hook block, a pulley block in which the sus pending hook is swivelled to the block so that the latter may turn to present the sheave in any direction.

Swivel-joint (swiv'el-joint), n. A section in a chain or a joint on a rod, which allows the parts to twist without distortion or kinking.

Swivel-loom (swiv'el-löm), n. A kind of loom formerly used for the weaving of tapes and narrow goods.

Swizzle (swiz'l), n. [Connected with sưng or swill.] 1. A beverage made of ale and beer mixed. Wright. [Local English.-2. A colloquial term applied to drink generally, tipple. Hannay. Swizzle (swiz'l), v.t. [Colloq.] Swob (swob), n. A mop. Swob (swob), v.t.

To drink; to swill

See SWAB.
To clean or wipe with a

swob. See SWAB. Swobber (swob'èr), n. 1. One who swabs or cleans with a mop; a swabber.-2. pl. Four privileged cards, only used incidentally in betting at the game of whist.

The clergyman used to play at whist and robbers. playing now and then a sober game at whist for pastime, it might be pardoned; but he could no digest those wicked swobbers. Swift.

Swollen, Swoln (swōln), p. and a. Swelled,
as, a swollen river.
Swolowe, n. [See SWALLOW ] A whirlpool
Chaucer.
a cavern in the earth.
Swolwe,t v.t. To swallow. Chaucer.
Swom (swom), old pret. of swim (which see).
Swonken,t pp. of swink. Laboured. Chau

cer.

Swoon (swön), v.i. [A. Sax. swunan, áswunan, to swoon, from stem of swindan, to languish, also seen in swindle, squander (which see), and O.G. swinan, to faint, to waste away, to languish ] To faint; to sink into a fainting fit, in which there is an apparent suspension of the vital functions and mental powers. I swoon almost with fear. Shak The most in years swoon'd first away for pain Dryden

Feeling all along the garden-wall, Lest he should swoon and tumble. Tennysom Swoon (swön), n. The act of swooning, or the state of one who has swooned; a fainting fit; syncope; leipothymia

Swooning (swön'ing), n. The act of fainting; syncope. Thence faintings, swoonings of despair. Milton.

Swooningly (swon'ing-li), adv. In a swooning manner.

Swoop (swop), v.t. [A form of sweep; A Sax svapan, to sweep] 1. To fall on at once and seize; to dash upon while on the wing; as, a hawk swoops a chicken; a kite swoops up a mouse. 2. To seize; to catch up; to take with a sweep.

The physician looks with another eye on the mechcinal herb than the grazing ox which snoop; it ta with the cominon grass. Glaser vile