swimmyadj.
/ˈswɪmi/ a. Inclined to dizziness or giddiness. Also in combinations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vertigo > [adjective]
dizzyc1340
turngiddy1398
turn-sickc1440
lighta1500
light-headeda1500
dozy1530
swimec1540
giddy1570
swimming1607
vertiginous1608
vertiginal1612
vertiginous1621
vertigious1623
hiddy-giddy1629
swimmering1650
wheel-sick1670
giddyish1711
swimmy1836
whizzy1866
dizzied1870
1836 F. Sykes Scraps from Jrnl. 123 To look down was quite enough to cause one's head to be unpleasantly swimmy.
1881 C. Whitehead Hops 42 The operators must not be swimmy-headed.
1892 R. L. Stevenson Vailima Lett. (1895) xvii. 153 My head rather swimmy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > elegance > [adjective] > graceful > of woman
swimmy1827
slinky1921
1827 S. T. Coleridge Let. 2 June (1971) VI. 687 A fine, tall, slim, swimmy, glidy lass.
c. Of the eyes: watery, tearful. Also, of tears.
ΚΠ
1936 J. B. Priestley They walk in City vii. 178 She had a round moist face, with swimmy eyes.
1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xvii. 358 The woman's..face, dissolving before him in his own swimmy tears.
Derivatives
ˈswimminess n. dizziness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vertigo > [noun]
dizzinessc900
swimeOE
swinglingc1000
turningc1230
turngiddya1382
giddiness1398
turngiddiness1398
vertiginyc1400
turn-sick?c1450
swindling1527
vertigo1528
swimming1530
swindle1559
turnsickness1559
duseling1561
whirling1561
turn-sick giddiness1577
megrim1595
vertiginousness1599
whimsya1627
tiegoa1640
lightheadedness1645
swimmering1650
swim1817
swirling1825
swimminess1894
1894 A. Conan Doyle Parasite 96 I had a dizziness and swimminess which rapidly passed away.
Draft additions 1993
d. Of acoustic effect: reverberant to an extent that renders sound indistinct. Also of (esp. recorded) sounds producing such an effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective] > reverberating or echoing > reverberant so as to make sound indistinct
swimmy1976
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > [adjective] > reverberating or echoing > reverberant so as to make sound indistinct > producing effect
swimmy1976
1976 Gramophone Aug. 341/3 In certain scenes where the acoustic has been subtly changed to add atmosphere the effect is ‘swimmy’.
1977 Guardian Weekly 24 July 21/3 Karajan 1972 was altogether more passionate,..but the recording was swimmy.
1987 Observer 27 Sept. 28/1 This year even that [sc. judgment of competitors] was hampered by the swimmy acoustics of the Leeds Town Hall.
1990 Gramophone May 2016/3 The very first impression is of a slightly swimmy acoustic; but that is pretty soon scotched by the quality of the playing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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adj.1827