† swingn.1
Obsolete.
Labour, toil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [noun] > labour or toil
workeOE
i-swincheOE
swenchOE
swote971
swingc1000
swinkOE
swinkinga1225
travailc1275
cark1330
sweatc1380
the sweat of (one's) brow (brows), facec1380
laboura1382
swengc1400
labouragec1470
toil1495
laborationa1500
tug1504
urea1510
carp1548
turmoil1569
moil1612
praelabour1663
fatigue1669
insudation1669
till?a1800
Kaffir work1848
graft1853
workfulness1854
collar-work1871
yakka1888
swot1899
heavy lifting1934
c1000 Ags. Ps. lxxxix. 11 [xc. 10] Eorum labor et dolor, heora geswing & sar.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 145 Þer scal beon..hele wið-uten unhele, reste wið-uten swinge.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 566 Ðor-buten noe, long swing he dreg.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
swingn.2
/swɪŋ/, U.S. /swɪŋ/ I. Abstract senses.† 1. † 2. to bear the swing: to have full sway or control. Also (to have) swing and sway. Obsolete.In this use swing apparently arose as a substitute or variant of swinge n.1: see swinge n.1 1.† 4. Impulse; inclination, tendency: = swinge n.1 3. Obsolete.
a. A stroke with a weapon. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > stroke with weapon > [noun]
dintc897
swengOE
stroke1297
dentc1325
swinga1400
stripec1475
handstroke1488
coup1523
cope1525
handystroke1542
hand stripe1543
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 1232 With a swyng of a swerd [he] swappis of hes hede.
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3360 Many swayne with þe swynge has the swette leuede.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 9018 Odemoun..Toke Menelaus In that swyng And him bare ouer his hors tayl.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xv. 188 The mawndwell by his armyng He knew, and roucht him sic a swyng That he till erd ȝeid hastely.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1271 With a swinge of his sworde [he] swappit hym in þe fase.
b. in a swing: suddenly. (Cf. French tout d'un coup.) Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > suddenly
in a widden-dreamOE
a sursaut1338
at a wapa1400
in a swing1487
on or upon a (or the) sudden1558
at a (orthe) sudden1562
in a sudden1562
of a sudden1570
short1579
overshort1587
on the starta1616
slap1672
swap1672
bob1673
souse1680
sharply1828
sharp1836
a-sudden1871
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 574 Sic abasing Tuk thame, but mar, in-to a swyng, Thai gaf the bak all, and to-ga.
ΘΠ
society > authority > [verb (intransitive)]
to give (the) law (to)a1225
reignc1325
to rule the roastc1500
to bear (the) rooma1529
to have, bear, carry, strike the stroke1531
to bear (a or the) sway1549
to bear a (also the) rout1550
(to have) swing and sway1552
to rule the rout1570
master1656
carry1662
to lay down the law1762
to rule the roost1769
to carry (also hold) (big) guns1867
1552 H. Latimer Cert. Godly Serm. (1562) 132 b At the tyme when the Cardinall was aloft, and beare the swynge [1584 swyng].
1565 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 370 Sa lang as sum of thame buir the haill swynge with us thame selffis.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 15v Whan honest Parmenos shall not be hard, but beare small swing [1571 swinge] with their masters.
1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xi. 49 Throw the all Tratoures blythlie sing... Throw the murther wald beir the swing.
1622 T. Dekker & P. Massinger Virgin Martir ii. sig. D2v She tooke vs, tis true, from the gallowes, yet I hope she will not barre yeomen sprats to haue their swinge.
1632 P. Massinger Emperour of East iv. i. sig. H2 That shee might still continue Her absolute sway, and swing ore the whole state.
1633 G. Herbert Glance in Temple ii Had the malicious and ill-meaning harm His swing and sway.
3. The course of a career, practice, period of time, etc., esp. as marked by vigorous action of some kind. Now chiefly in in full swing, in the full swing of ….
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > vigorous activity
swing1570
go1848
the world > action or operation > in operation [phrase] > in full operation
afloat?1548
in (full) play1669
in full swing1703
at full swarth1713
in blast, at or in full blast1780
in (also at) full riot1848
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 1/2 The time of Antichrist, or desolation of the Churche, whose full swinge conteineth the space of .400. yeares.
a1618 W. Bradshaw Medit. Mans Mortalitie (1621) 19 Sleepe is but short... And as it is but short of it selfe, though it should last the full swinge of nature: so the soundest sleepe, is easily broken.
1680 C. Ness Compl. Church-hist. 220 Thinking to take a long swing in sin.
1689 T. Rymer View Govt. Europe 31 Puft up and wanton with their new acquisitions and swing of fortune.
1703 G. Farquhar Twin-rivals iv. i. 44 To disturb me thus, just in the swing and stretch of my full Fortune!
1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VII. ii. lvii. 186 She [sc. Athens] was in the full swing of hope.
1861 G. Meredith Evan Harrington III. xvi. 259 A barrister in full swing of practice.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. iv. 66 He had had his full swing of success for two years.
1864 Huxley in Life (1900) I. xviii. 253 My lectures tire me, from want of practice... I shall soon get into swing.
1894 H. Caine Manxman v. iii It was still early in the herring season, but the fishing was in full swing.
ΘΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun]
kinda1200
disposingc1380
disposition1393
aptc1400
hieldc1400
remotiona1425
inclination?a1439
incliningc1450
taste1477
intendment1509
benta1535
swing1538
approclivity1546
aptness1548
swinge1548
drift1549
set1567
addiction1570
disposedness1583
swaya1586
leaning1587
intention1594
inflection1597
inclinableness1608
appetite1626
vogue1626
tendency1628
tendence1632
aptitude1633
gravitation1644
propension1644
biasing1645
conducement1646
flexure1652
propendency1660
tend1663
vergencya1665
pend1674
to have a way of1748
polarity1767
appetency1802
drive1885
overleaning1896
1538 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) III. 39 The saide Lorde Deputie refused to accepte the same, whiche afterwarde, of his awne swynge..he receyved.
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 5th Serm. sig. Rvv They woulde haue a Kyng of theyr owne swinge and of their owne election.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 14v Where the swing goeth, there to follow, fawne, flatter.
a1607 T. Brightman Brightman Redivivus (1647) iii. 50 Christ did not of his own Swing and Counsell leap into the Office of Reconciliation.
1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-deceiuing xxviii. 335 If wee can follow the swing and sway of our owne proud, and vaineglorious affections.
1679 R. South Serm. Several Occasions 67 Were it not for these, Civill government were not able to stand before the prevailing swing of corrupt nature.
a1704 Locke in Ld. King Life (1830) II. 220 From their cradles some..have been..given up to the conduct and swing of their inconsiderate desires.
5. Freedom of action, free scope: = swinge n.1 2; esp. in to take, have one's (full) swing, to allow oneself every freedom, indulge oneself to the full, have one's fling. (See note under sense 8.)
ΘΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [noun] > scope or free opportunity
roomeOE
leisure1303
libertyc1425
free chase1467
scope1534
roomtha1540
swinge1542
swing1584
blank charter1593
freedom1623
field1639
play1641
free agencya1646
range1793
expatiationa1848
leaveway1890
open slather1919
headroom1932
1584 J. Lyly Alexander, Campaspe, & Diogenes iii. ii. sig. C3 Psyllus How canst thou thus diuine, deuide, define, dispute, and all on the sodaine? Manes Wit wil haue his swing.
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. xvi. 199/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I Wherby it appeereth that some sort of youth will oft haue his swinge, although it be in a halter.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Georgics in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. ¶1 He had, (according to our homely Saying) his full swing at this Poem, beginning it about the Age of Thirty Five; and scarce concluding it before he arriv'd at Forty.
1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle ii. ii. 23 The fellow will have his swing, tho he hang for't.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 503. ⁋2 This Creature came among us only to give herself Airs, and enjoy her full Swing in being admir'd.
1731 H. Fielding Letter-writers i. ii. 7 I resolved to take one Swing in the charming Plains of Iniquity.
1808 W. Scott Marmion i. xviii. 39 Let the wild falcon soar her swing.
1860 C. M. Yonge Hopes & Fears I. 244 Trust me that things will adjust themselves all the better for letting them have their swing.
1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma i. 16 The giving free swing to one's temper and instincts.
1908 S. E. White Riverman ix She was a kindly girl, whose parents gave her free swing.
6.
a. Forcible motion of a body swung or flung. (Also figurative.) archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > [noun] > force of movement > of a body swung or flung
swing1595
1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine v. iv. 189 That..she might haue died a death Worse then the swing of old Ixions wheele.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 207 The Ram that batters downe the wall, For the great swinge and rudenesse of his poise [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 566 Swelling Surges..Bound o're the Rocks, incroach upon the Land;..Then backward with a Swing, they take their Way.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 618 And rising as he threw, With its full swing the fatal Weapon flew.
1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf xiv. 30 The dread swing of the waves [orig. atol yða geswing] was washing all mingled With hot blood.
b. Continuous vigorous movement or progress.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [noun] > continuously > and rapidly or forcibly
sweep1708
swing1856
1856 ‘The Druid’ Post & Paddock i. 24 He [sc. a horse] would insist on walking through the brook instead of taking it in his swing.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. xi. 191 The..casual voyager..might have beheld the..eight-oar coming with a steady swing up the last reach.
1865 Morning Star 5 July When the train was getting on the ‘swing’ (attaining a high speed).
c. full swing (adverbial phr.): at full speed; with the utmost vigour or energy.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swiftly [phrase] > at full speed
full speed1382
with topsailc1400
at spursa1500
on (also upon) the (spurs or) spur1525
amain1555
a main pace (also speed)1567
full tilt?a1600
upon full stretch1697
at full tilt1713
at (also on) full speed1749
(at) full split1836
full chisel1837
(at) full pelt1841
full swing1843
ventre à terre1848
full out1886
at full lick1889
hell-for-leather1889
all out1895
eyes out1895
flat out1932
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > acting vigorously or energetically [phrase] > with great vigour or energy
with (also in) mood and maineOE
vigour13..
with or by (all one's) might and mainc1330
with (one's) forcec1380
like anything1665
hammer and tongs1708
like stour1787
(in) double tides1788
like blazes1818
like winking1827
with a will1827
like winky1830
like all possessed1833
in a big way1840
like (or worse than) sin1840
full swing1843
like a Trojan1846
like one o'clock1847
like sixty1848
like forty1852
like wildfire1857
like old boots1865
like blue murder1867
like steam1905
like stink1929
like one thing1938
like a demon1945
up a storm1953
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. xi. 293 Round they go, full swing, every hound throwing his tongue.
1847 H. Miller First Impressions Eng. vii. 121 He..returned full swing to the gratification of the grosser propensities of his nature.
1887 A. Jessopp Arcady viii. 236 While the northern mail was coming along full swing through the parish.
d. A swift tour or journey (through a place) involving a number of stops or visits. Now spec. a political campaign tour; also, swing around the circle, a campaigning tour of a constituency or larger area. Cf. swing v.1 11c. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [noun] > travelling about > touring > with brief halts
swing1860
whistle-stopping1952
society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [noun] > tour > types of
the tour1642
grand tour1678
circular tour1860
swing1860
tourette1881
voyage of discovery1890
roundabout1894
Cook's tour1902
conducted1907
conducted tour1907
book tour1939
tour d'horizon1952
society > travel > [phrase] > on tour
on (also upon) the road1860
swing around the circle1905
1860 H. J. Hawley Jrnl. 22 Apr. in Wisconsin Mag. Hist. (1936) XIX. 330 Had a fine time a nice swing..saw sights and returned.
1905 Springfield (Mass.) Weekly Republican 6 Oct. 1 Will the appropriated money be available for campaigning swings around the circle?
1929 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Oct. 2/7 Mr. Hoover has undergone much strain on this swing and he showed it as he waved a weary adieu to the hospitable Ohioans.
1949 Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 Sept. 2 Before his recent swing around the Marshall countries.
1967 Boston Globe 5 Apr. 51/1 Dizzy Dean's wife once traveled with him on an Eastern swing by the Cardinals.
1972 Evening Telegram (St. John's, Newfoundland) 27 June 5/3 Senior citizens can call a number and a van will come by to pick them up on swings through the city.
1978 L. Heren Growing up on The Times iii. 92 I..was sharing a room..with Colin Reid of the Daily Telegraph, who was on a swing from Beirut.
e. A worker's rest period between duties; a shift system which incorporates such breaks. Also, time off work as leave, furlough. Cf. swing-shift n. at swing- comb. form 2a. U.S. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > [noun] > leave of absence
leave1668
leave of absence1783
swing1917
society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > spell of work or duty > system of shifts
turnway1897
swing1917
1917 D. C. Roper U.S. Post Office 353 Swing, period of time within the day's tour or ‘trick’ when an employee is temporarily off duty.
1918 Outlook (N.Y.) 17 July 443/2 [On a street railway] The ‘swings’, or free time between runs, are for the most part so arranged as to be inconvenient for going home.
1945 Transit News (Capital Transit Co., Washington, D.C.) 15 June A ‘Swing’ works during the morning rush hour, and the operator is then off until time to start the evening rush hour.
1972 J. Mills Rep. to Commissioner 129 I went on my swing after that.
f. In colloquial phrase to go with a swing: said of a lively, successful party or other entertainment or undertaking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > conspicuously
with a roar1845
to go (over) big1903
to go with a swing1976
society > leisure > social event > type of social event > [phrase] > lively or successful
to go with a swing1976
1976 Bridgwater Mercury 21 Dec. 9/3 Families may soon be enjoying a tipple at the bar to make their parties held in the community centre go with a swing.
7.
a. The act of swinging or waving about a weapon or other body; a movement describing a curve, such as that made in flourishing a weapon, raising the arm or hand to give a blow, etc.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > [noun] > flourishing or brandishing > an instance of
flourish1600
swing1635
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > [noun] > with the hand > swinging or sweeping
rounder1875
round-hander1887
swing1908
haymaker1912
roundhouse1932
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes iii. xii. 170 The farther off we go, The swing of Iustice deales the mightier blow.
1771 A. Lonnergan Fencer's Guide 87 By the swing you give, you may find way still for a thrust to enter upon me, if you do not disarm me; but if your wrist is swung too far from the Line, you must spring back to avoid a thrust that may come at you.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 582 He now heats the bulb in the fire,..and by a dexterous swing or two he lengthens it.
1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour i. iii. 10 [He] brought his right arm round with a sort of military swing to his forehead.
1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold v. i. 139 Swaying his two-handed sword about him, Two deaths at every swing.
1887 Field 19 Feb. 242/2 By ‘swing’ I understand keeping the gun moving with the object for a short time before firing.
1891 H. Herman His Angel ii. 31 The woodwork of the car was flying in splinters under the rapid swing of an axe.
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 205 Those who shoot with the gun on the swing.
1899 H. G. Hutchinson et al. Bk. Golf ii. 42 Instantaneous photographs of first-class players taken when at the top of the swing.
1908 T. Burns Scientific Boxing ii. 33 The quickest punches are necessarily the straight arm ones. They will always get there quicker than any round arm swing.
b. Boxing. A punch delivered with a sweep of the arm; a swinging blow. Also in general colloquial use, esp. in to take a swing at (someone).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > actions or positions
first bloodc1540
guard1601
feint1684
in holds1713
shifting1793
rally1805
muzzler1811
one-two1811
stop1812
southpaw1813
fibbing1814
leveller1814
mouther1814
ribber1814
stomacher1814
teller1814
in-fighting1816
muzzling1819
weaving1821
out-fighting1831
arm guard1832
countering1858
counter1861
clinching1863
prop1869
clinch1875
right and left1887
hook-hit1890
hook1898
cross1906
lead1906
jolt1908
swing1910
body shot1918
head shot1927
bolo punch1950
snap-back1950
counterpunch1957
counterpunching1957
Ali shuffle1966
rope-a-dope1975
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the hand > with the fist > swinging or sweeping
roundhouse1934
to take a swing at1983
1910 J. Driscoll Ringcraft 94 It only needs practice to convince anyone that the straight blow will always get there before the swing or the hook.
1962 Times 28 Apr. 3/5 Barlow came rushing in attempting to land with right swings to the head.
1983 W. Winward Last & Greatest Art 211 If I stand here much longer I'm going to be tempted to take a swing at you.
8. figurative.1877 R. Giffen Stock Exchange Securities 153 There is an upward and downward swing, as of a pendulum, in the prices of securities.1891 R. Ball Ice Age 167 At the other end of the swing the summer in the Northern hemisphere will be seven days shorter than the winter in the same hemisphere.
a. The act of swinging or oscillating, as a suspended body, or a body turning (to and fro, or in either direction) upon a fixed centre or axis, e.g. upon a hinge; an oscillating or swaying movement, oscillation; also, the amount of oscillation, the arc or curve traced or moved through in this way. Also with adverb, as swing-to, the act of swinging to.In quot. 1589 with reference to hanging and play on sense 5.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [noun] > swinging or oscillation of suspended body
babbling1440
swing1589
vibration1668
swinging1669
vibrating1743
1589 ‘Marphoreus’ Martins Months Minde To Rdr. sig. C3 If these men may haue their swaie, (but wee hope first they shall haue their swing).
1623 J. Taylor Praise & Vertue of Jayle sig. B8v One hanging is a necessary thing, Which is a pretty Gamboll, cald a Swing. [note] A Swing or stretch for exercise and health.
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Ccc 2/1 To give one a great swing, donner à quêcun une grande secousse.
1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) He may have a Swing, (or be hang'd) for't.
1775 J. Steele Ess. Melody & Meas. Speech 68 The rhythmical pulsation is regularly periodical and constant as the swings of a pendulum.
1784 J. Douglas Cook's Voy. Pacific II. iii. ix. 167 They say, that a goddess, having a lump or mass of earth suspended in a cord, gave it a swing, and scattered about pieces of land.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. 58 A short swing of a foot or two should be given to it, so as to produce centrifugal force.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. ii. 47 Charles was speedily at a white gate, whose sound and easy swing denoted an entrance of some pretension.
1853 J. D. H. Dale tr. G. Baldeschi Ceremonial Rom. Rite 35 He..incenses the Celebrant with three double swings.
1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason ix. 161 Argo, leaping forward to the swing Of measured oars.
1869 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 443 At first the time is bad, there is not sufficient ‘swing’ or ‘catching at the beginning’.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Swing, the arc or curve described by the point of a pick or maundril when being used by a holer or in cutting coal; called the swing of the pick.
1901 ‘G. Douglas’ House with Green Shutters 289 The sharp swing-to of the door.
a1903 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Last Hope (1904) ii The swing of her tapering masts spoke of the heaving seas she had left behind.
b. on the swing: swinging from side to side, oscillating.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillating [phrase] > swinging
on the swing1843
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. viii. 216 His dressing-table was covered with blacks—his looking-glass was on the swing—his soap was reduced to wafer.
1882 G. A. Sala Amer. Revisited (1885) 166 The..doors were..on the swing.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) xiii. 128 The pace was frightful by this time, the coach on the swing.
c. A form of penance performed by Hindus: see swing v.1 6 (b).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > confession > penance > [noun] > among Hindus
swinging1793
swing1852
1852 Mrs. F. L. Mortimer Far Off, Hindostan 103 There is another way of torture quite as painful—it is the swing. Those [Hindoos] who determine to swing, allow the blacksmith to drive hooks into the flesh upon their backs, and hanging by these hooks they swing in the air.
d. The distance which determines the diameter of the work that can be admitted by a lathe.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > swing of lathe
swing1875
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.
e. A sweeping movement.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > [noun] > movement in curve
fetch1617
sweep1679
sweeping1830
swing1897
1897 Badminton Mag. 4 386 Presently the hounds took a swing to the left and over the edge of the hill again.
f. The leaning outward from the vehicle of the upper part of a wheel.
ΘΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > inclination inwards or outwards
toeing1871
swing1875
toe-in1929
toe-out1930
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.
g. Cricket. A curving deviation of a ball from a straight line of flight on delivery, occasioned by a combination of the angle of its seam and the relative smoothness of the leather each side of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > motion of ball > specific
curl1833
screw1840
devil1845
rise1845
work1846
break1851
spin1851
hang1866
bump1867
fire1888
leg-spin1888
air break1900
turn1900
underspin1901
off-spin1904
finger spin1905
swing1906
back-spin1916
outswing1921
inswing1927
away swing1936
wrist-spin1960
1906 Cricket 29 Nov. 450/1 He and Raynor..were two of the best boy bowlers I have seen, and the latter had more break—not swing—in the air than anyone else I ever saw.
1920 R. H. Lyttelton & E. R. Wilson in P. F. Warner Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) vii. 270 Baker did not swing too much..and he combined swing with length.
1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 101 It is not often in Australia that the atmospheric conditions encourage swing.
h. An observable movement in general opinion away from one position towards another. Hence spec. in Politics, a change in the relative distribution of popular support for political parties, often measured in terms of percentage gains or losses by each party at a poll. Formerly also †swing of the pendulum.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > change of opinion > [noun] > in public opinion
swing1899
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > [noun] > change in popular support
swing1899
society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > proceedings at election > [noun] > electioneering > movements of public opinion
swing1899
bounce1975
1899 Pall Mall Mag. Jan. 42 Affairs took a swing under me and took me off my balance.
1912 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 835 It is evident that a swing of public opinion has occurred.
1933 D. W. Brogan Amer. Polit. Syst. x. iv. 368 The strength of American parties is, as a rule, too sectional, too much divorced from any current national controversies, for there to be anything like our ‘swing of the pendulum’.
1940 Economist 5 Oct. 421/2 The swing in American public opinion has been such that the Nazis may well despair of keeping the United States out of a long war.
1945 Times 27 July 4/1 When the votes were counted..it was revealed that the Government formed by Mr Churchill on the break-up of the Coalition had been decisively beaten by a surging swing of opinion to the Left.
1955 Times 26 May 10/1 The absence of any pronounced ‘swing’ towards the Government.
1960 Where? 3 17 ‘Swing’, the, jargon for the relatively recent tendency among sixth form pupils to specialize in science rather than arts subjects.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 493 It was only a 3·1 swing, and by God a 3·1 swing can become a 4·0 counter-swing very quickly indeed.
1976 H. Wilson Governance of Brit. ii. 38 We had bad county council results in April, including Lancashire though with a favourable swing in Greater London.
i. An increase or decrease in the magnitude of a current or voltage, the difference between its greatest and smallest values.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > variation in
swing1908
transient1910
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > voltage > [noun] > variation in voltage
swing1908
transient1910
step1940
1908 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1907 622 These [oscillations]..are transferred..into a closed air-condenser circuit, which, when its swings reach a maximum, overflows into the coherer.
1957 Pract. Wireless 33 562/2 It is possible to increase the anode voltage swing and the anode peak current.
1978 Sci. Amer. Dec. 54/1 Load-following generators are started daily and run most of the time to cope with daily swings in the load; they may be shut down at night.
Categories »
j. Psychology: see mood swing n. at mood n.1 Compounds 2.
k. Bridge. The difference between the total scores of two teams of two pairs playing the same deal at two tables, each team having north-south positions at one table and east-west at the other.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > scores or points
penalty1904
point1910
point count1914
match point1921
part score1932
swing1945
victory point1962
1945 ‘S. J. Simon’ Why you lose at Bridge 24 In Room 1, North-South bid six Spades and made five. In Room 2, North-South stopped in 4 spades and declarer, playing for safety, made three. No swing!
1949 Contract Bridge Jrnl. Feb. 5/2 On the very next hand the Scots repaid the compliment; at this stage they were going great guns, and on Board 54 came the biggest swing to-date.
1961 Listener 10 Aug. 222/3 The swing on the board was 2,080, or 11 match points.
9. Movement of the body or limbs in a manner suggesting the action of swinging.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [noun] > swaying > specifically of the body or limbs
swinga1739
arm swing1859
body swing1869
a1739 C. Jarvis tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (1742) II. ii. xiii. 157 Don Quixote, who was not used to alight without having his stirrop held,..threw his body off with a swing.
1745 J. Swift Tom Mullinex & Dick in Misc. X. 226 Tom had the genteeler Swing, His Hat could nicely put on.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 194. ⁋6 One was detected by his gait, and another by the swing of his arms.
1808 Salmagundi 25 Jan. 430 An easy swing in my walk.
1901 Daily News 1 Apr. 5/7 [In rowing] Their recovery was lively, their swing-forward remarkably steady and well-balanced.
10.
a. A steady vigorous rhythm or movement characterizing a verse or musical composition.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > lilt or swing
swing1829
lilt1841
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] > action of putting into rhythm > types of rhythm
swing1829
sprung rhythm1877
dance-rhythm1880
ragtime1896
slow drag1901
rumba1912
polymetre1922
cross-rhythm1926
tangana1926
counter-rhythm1927
ride1935
walking beat1935
ricky-tick1937
rock1937
shuffle rhythm1940
isorhythm1954
shuffle beat1955
tango rhythm1966
makossa1973
1829 A. Cunningham Lives Brit. Painters I. 171 Distinguished by a vigorous swing of versification.
1879 R. W. Church Spenser 46 In the Shepherd's Calender we have for the first time in the century, the swing, the command, the varied resources of the true poet.
1884 Congregationalist Feb. 109 The ‘swing’ and ‘go’..of these popular religious ballads.
b. Music. A quality of jazz, dance music, etc., that has a flowing but strongly compelling rhythm; since the mid-thirties (esp. for a decade), applied to a variety of big dance-band music played in this style. Cf. swing- comb. form 2d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > jazz > [noun] > swing
swing1899
(a)
(b)1936 Delineator 129 10/1 This swing, it's nothing more or less than jazz, is it?1937 L. Armstrong Swing that Music xiv. 117 Even now, thirty years after Swing was born, this book is the first history of swing music, and of the men who made it, to be published in the English language.1943 D. Welch Maiden Voy. xiv. 110 ‘What kind of records have you got?’ ‘There's plenty of swing.’1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy v. 129 The emotional patterns bodied out by ‘swing’ are quite close to those of the older, waltz-derived, styles: in fact, ‘swing’ has been adapted and assimilated; a modern ‘swing’ song and an old-fashioned waltz tune live together with ease.1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 61 It wasn't jazz. Not real jazz... Swing..that's what they'd called it, when [Artie] Shaw had introduced it in the 1930's.1899 H. H. Mincer (title of song) Virginia. Two-step & hot rag swing.
1917 Sun (N.Y.) 5 Aug. 3/7 Jazz is based on the savage musician's wonderful gift for progressive retarding and acceleration guided by his sense of swing.
1924 (title of music) Lou'siana swing [performed by Piron's New Orleans Orchestra].
1932 ‘Duke’ Ellington (title of song) It don't mean a thing (If it ain't got that swing).
1939 ‘Duke’ Ellington in Melody Maker 15 July 8/3 No notes represent swing. You can't write swing because swing is the emotional element in the audience and there is no swing until you hear the note.
1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) IV. 600/1 ‘Swing’..can only be said to designate the regular but subtle rhythmic pulsation which animates 4–4 time and must be present in every good jazz performance. Swing is essentially the performer's concern: it cannot be indicated in musical notation except implicitly.
II. Concrete senses.
11.
a. A contrivance used for recreation, consisting of a seat which is suspended from above on ropes or rods and on which a person may sit and swing to and fro; also = swing-boat n. at swing- comb. form 2a.
ΘΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > swing > [noun]
tottera1387
merry-totter1440
shuggie-shue1653
swinger1662
swing1687
high-flyer1886
swing set1951
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 45 In the Morning the Streets are full of Swings, adorned with Festoons.
1799 S. Lee Clergyman's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales III. 325 There once hung my infantine swing between two limes.
1813 Sporting Mag. 42 20 There were the usual swings, ups-and-downs, and roundabouts.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. xii. 428 A post to tie a swing to.
b. Colloquial phrase to gain on the swings and lose on the roundabouts and variants, according to which one's losses in one quarter balance one's gains in another. Also allusively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > equality [phrase] > balance out
to gain on the swings and lose on the roundabouts1912
1912 P. R. Chalmers Green Days & Blue Days 20 For ‘up an' down an' round,’ said 'e, goes all appointed things, An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!
1927 Times 24 Mar. 15/5 By screwing more money out of tax-payers he diminishes their savings, and the market for trustee securities loses on the swings what it gains on the roundabouts.
1944 G. B. Shaw Everybody's Polit. What's What? xv. 121 I was taxed at a higher rate than my fellow capitalists who had smaller incomes. But then I had to pay at a lower rate than others who had bigger incomes. Whether I lost on the swings what I gained on the roundabouts I do not know.
1964 Eng. Stud. 45 (Suppl.). 98 The more a word loses in meaning, the more it gains in functional, as distinct from semantic, importance. What we lose on the swings we win on the roundabouts.
1976 Listener 18 Nov. 641/1 There is a certain rough justice in charging for the possibility of using the [broadcasting] service... Swings and round~abouts.
12. † a. A pendulum. Obsolete.† b. A noose for hanging, halter. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pendulum clock > pendulum
pendule1660
pendulum1660
simple pendulum1673
bob-pendulum1685
swing1696
quicksilver pendulum1726
pendle1741
gridiron pendulum1751
mercurial pendulum1786
gridiron1793
wanrest1794
seconds pendulum1795
conical pendulum1813
ticker1821
noddy1844
1696 W. Derham Artific. Clock-maker ii. 14 The Ballance or Swing hath two strokes to every tooth.
ΘΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > hanging > [noun] > gallows > parts of > noose or rope
ropeeOE
withec1275
cordc1330
snarea1425
tippet1447
girnc1480
halter1481
widdie1508
tether?a1513
hemp1532
Tyburn tippet1549
John Roper's window1552
neckweed1562
noose1567
horse-nightcap1593
tow1596
Tyburn tiffany1612
piccadill1615
snick-up1620
Tyburn piccadill1620
necklacea1625
squinsy1632
Welsh parsley1637
St. Johnston's riband1638
string1639
Bridport daggera1661
rope's end1663
cravat1680
swing1697
snecket1788
death cord1804
neckclothc1816
St. Johnston's tippet1816
death rope1824
mink1826
squeezer1836
yard-rope1850
necktie1866
Tyburn string1882
Stolypin's necktie1909
widdieneckc1920
1697 Abell in Potter Antiq. Greece I. i. xxv. 126 That he might there make swings above the floor For all his nasty Queans, who'd play'd the Whore.
c. A hawser for making fast a boat.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > for securing vessel > large
hawser1338
hawse1598
proviso1625
swing1850
1850 H. Miller Scenes & Legends N. Scotl. (ed. 2) xii. 177 The small hawser attached to the stem, known technically as the swing, which he wound securely round a jutting crag.
d. The rope or chain attached to the tongue of a wagon, along which the draught animals between the leaders and the wheelers are attached, they being said to be in the swing; hence, the animals occupying that position (more fully, swing-pair, swing-steer, swing-team).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > draught-horse > that pulls wagon
wagon-horse1585
dray-horse1709
swing1869
1869 Overland Monthly Aug. 127/1 With the Texan driver all oxen are ‘steers’, and he has his ‘wheel-steers’, his ‘swing-steers’, and his ‘lead-steers’.
1891 in Cent. Dict.
1907 Morning Post 21 May 9/3 The splendid sextet, Jim and Henry in the wheel, Billy and Phil in the swing, and Mace and Dude in the lead.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 28 May 9/3 The two wheelers of the team..The swing pair,..and the two leaders.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Swing-team, in a logging-team of six, the pair between the leaders and the butt team.
e. The outriders who keep a moving herd of cattle in order. Also swing-men, swing-riders. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [noun] > herding of cattle > cowherd > collectively
outfit1848
cow-camp1873
swing1903
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy iii. 28.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy x. 137 He rode up from his position of third man in the swing.
f. ‘A kind of suspensory cradle or sling for a broken leg’ (Dorland Med. Dict. 1901).
g. Photography. = swing-back n. (a) at swing- comb. form 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > back or front of camera
rising front1860
swing-back1862
swing1878
swing-front1892
1878 W. de W. Abney Treat. Photogr. (1881) 244 On one side of the picture a near object may have to be represented; by using the horizontal swing, it may often be brought into focus.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
Swingn.3
Now Historical.
Used, chiefly attributive, to designate a system of intimidation practised in agricultural districts of the South of England in 1830–1, consisting in sending to farmers and landowners threatening letters over the signature of a fictitious Captain Swing, followed by the incendiary destruction of their ricks and other property. Three pretended lives of Swing appeared: The Life and History of Swing, the Kent Rick-burner, written by himself, 1830, A Short Account of the Life and Death of Swing, the Rick-burner, written by one well acquainted with him, by H. N. Coleridge, and The Genuine Life of Mr. Francis Swing, 1831. A review of the first of these, by General P. Thompson, entitled ‘On Machine-breaking’, in the Westminster Review, Jan. 1831, was republished in pamphlet form, ‘In answer to “Swing”.’
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > quality of being intimidating > [noun] > system or practice of agricultural intimidation
Swing1830
swingism1841
1830 Poor Man's Guardian 31 Dec. 8/1 There is no doubt that the fire was caused by an incendiary, as Mr. Ley had previously received a ‘Swing’ letter, threatening that his place should be fired before the 10th of January.
1832 Let. to J. Keate (Headmaster of Eton) in Notes & Queries 7th Ser. VII. 268/1 If you do not lay aside your Thrishing machine you will hear further from.. Swing.]
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 219 ‘This letter is anonymous.’..‘I see—bit o' sving, eh?’
1842 R. H. Barham Babes in Wood in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 192 And Captain Swing came in the night, And burnt all his beans and his barley.]
1845 W. Wing Antiq. Steeple Aston 58 The riots in the agricultural districts in 1830–1, called the ‘Swing-riots’.
1859 Times 21 Nov. Excesses of the Luddites and Swing.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. III. vi. 113 And while Swing and his myrmidons were abroad in the counties.]
1888 World 2 May 5 He quoted the example of the Swing Fires as an example of an evil which may have averted greater evils.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online June 2020).
swingv.1
/swɪŋ/, U.S. /swɪŋ/ a. transitive. To scourge, whip, flog, beat (a person); also, to strike with a weapon or the hand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)]
swingc725
slayc825
knockc1000
platOE
swengea1225
swipa1225
kill?c1225
girdc1275
hitc1275
befta1300
anhitc1300
frapa1330
lushc1330
reddec1330
takec1330
popc1390
swapa1400
jod?14..
quella1425
suffetc1440
smith1451
nolpc1540
bedunch1567
percuss1575
noba1586
affrap1590
cuff?1611
doda1661
buffa1796
pug1802
nob1811
scud1814
bunt1825
belt1838
duntle1850
punt1886
plunk1888
potch1892
to stick one on1910
clunk1943
zonk1950
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > administer corporal punishment [verb (transitive)] > whip or scourge
swingc725
scourc1386
whipc1386
lash1398
bescourgea1400
swaipa1400
flail14..
belash1458
stripec1460
leash1503
flagelle1551
swingea1556
breech1573
lace1599
flagellate1623
slash1631
chawbuck1682
innocentize1708
swepe1710
belace1736
screenge1787
yedder1818
stock-whip1852
rawhide1858
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) E 477 Exalaparetur, suungen.
971 Blickl. Hom. 15 Hie hine bindað & swingaþ & spætliað on his onsyne.
971 Blickl. Hom. 23 Hie hine swungon, & bundon.
971 Blickl. Hom. 243 Swingaþ hine on his muð.
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints xxxvii. 158 And hine man þa swang & mid saglum beot.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 149 [He] ofte for his sunne swingeð him mið smele twige.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 26019 Efter he was wit skurges suungen [Fairf. squongin].
c1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 443 With oute gult þei me swongen, And to a piler þei me bounden.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13054 Ilk oþer wroþ, ilk oþer swong.
a1400 Octavian (Sarrazin) 2 Jesu, þat was..for vs hard and sore yswonnge.
c1450 Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 5 How xrist was with scourgis swongyn.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxiii. 302 Blo and blody thus am I bett, Swongen with swepys.
b. To beat (the flesh) from, (the blood) out of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
to-beatc893
threshOE
bustc1225
to lay on or upon?c1225
berrya1250
to-bunea1250
touchc1330
arrayc1380
byfrapc1380
boxc1390
swinga1400
forbeatc1420
peal?a1425
routa1425
noddlea1450
forslinger1481
wipe1523
trima1529
baste1533
waulk1533
slip1535
peppera1550
bethwack1555
kembc1566
to beat (a person) black and blue1568
beswinge1568
paik1568
trounce1568
canvass1573
swaddle?1577
bebaste1582
besoop1589
bumfeage1589
dry-beat1589
feague1589
lamback1589
clapperclaw1590
thrash1593
belam1595
lam1595
beswaddle1598
bumfeagle1598
belabour1600
tew1600
flesh-baste1611
dust1612
feeze1612
mill1612
verberate1614
bethumpa1616
rebuke1619
bemaul1620
tabor1624
maula1627
batterfang1630
dry-baste1630
lambaste1637
thunder-thump1637
cullis1639
dry-banga1640
nuddle1640
sauce1651
feak1652
cotton1654
fustigate1656
brush1665
squab1668
raddle1677
to tan (a person's) hide1679
slam1691
bebump1694
to give (a person) his load1694
fag1699
towel1705
to kick a person's butt1741
fum1790
devel1807
bray1808
to beat (also scare, etc.) someone's daylights out1813
mug1818
to knock (a person) into the middle of next week1821
welt1823
hidea1825
slate1825
targe1825
wallop1825
pounce1827
to lay into1838
flake1841
muzzle1843
paste1846
looder1850
frail1851
snake1859
fettle1863
to do over1866
jacket1875
to knock seven kinds of —— out of (a person)1877
to take apart1880
splatter1881
to beat (knock, etc.) the tar out of1884
to —— the shit out of (a person or thing)1886
to do up1887
to —— (the) hell out of1887
to beat — bells out of a person1890
soak1892
to punch out1893
stoush1893
to work over1903
to beat up1907
to punch up1907
cream1929
shellac1930
to —— the bejesus out of (a person or thing)1931
duff1943
clobber1944
to fill in1948
to bash up1954
to —— seven shades of —— out of (a person or thing)1976
to —— seven shades out of (a person or thing)1983
beast1990
becurry-
fan-
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9102 (MED) Vte of his bak þe blode þai suang.
a1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 142 Þe flesch was from þe bones swonge.
c. Cookery. To beat up, ‘whip’ (milk, eggs, etc.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > general preparation processes > perform general preparation processes [verb (transitive)] > whip
swingc1000
swengec1430
slingc1450
beat1486
batter1585
strokea1639
mill1662
whip1673
whisk1710
cream1889
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 14 Gif poc sy on eagan nim arsapan & hinde meoluc mæng to somne & swyng.
?c1390 Form of Cury in Warner Antiq. Culin. (1791) 10 Breke ayrenn and do thereto; and swyng it wel togydr.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 11 Swyng eyryn, and do þer to.
a1500 Recipes (Harl. 5401) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 53 Recipe brede gratyd, & eggis; & swyng þam to-gydere.
d. intransitive. To strike a blow with a sword; to come together with blows; to deliver a blow at.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or thrust with sword > use or fight with sword [verb (intransitive)] > strike with sword
swinga1375
flish-flash1641
sword1863
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3856 Swiftli seþþe with swerdes swonge þei to-gider.
c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 576 Þe white kniht wiþ his swerd swyngede to hem sone.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 957 He swyngis out with a swerd & swappis him to dethe.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 314 Wallace thar-with swyth with a suerd out swang.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13590 Pirrus swappit out his sword, swange at þe kyng.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > projecting through space or throwing > throw [verb (transitive)] > violently
dusta1225
stetec1330
swinga1400
whirra1400
wapc1440
whirlc1440
to throw off1551
swash1577
ding1614
bung1825
whither1825
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7527 His arms fra him did he suing [Fairf. 14 squynge].
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xv. cii He swange [Bodl. MS. swenged] the adder in to the fire.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Cadger l. 2076 in Poems (1981) 80 He hint him be the heillis, And with ane swak he swang him on the creillis.
a. intransitive. To move or go impetuously; to rush; to fling oneself. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > move swiftly in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move with impetuous speed
leapOE
swengec1000
swingOE
throwc1275
hurla1300
dashc1300
fling1300
stetec1330
lance?a1400
slinga1400
whirlc1400
wringc1400
dingc1450
whither1487
chop1555
to cast (also lay) one's heels in one's neck1599
clap1603
precipitate1622
teara1627
toss1727
to keep on at a score1807
whing1882
whirlwind1894
to go off full score1900
careen1923
OE Beowulf 2264 Næs hearpan wyn..ne god hafoc geond sæl swingeð, ne se swifta mearh burhstede beateð.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7582 Wit þat stan he laid in sling, Sua stalworthli he lete it suing þat in his frunt þat stan he fest.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1562 Þe lorde..Sweȝ his vncely swyn, þat swyngez [MS reads swyngeȝ] bi þe bonkkeȝ.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1059 Þat foysoun flode..Swyþe hit swange þurȝ vch a strete.
c1503 Beuys of Southhamptowne (Pynson) 497 Al at onys on hym they swonge And gaue hym woundes wyde and longe.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) ii. iii. sig. C.iiijv Well Trupenie neuer but flinging. An. Alyface. And frisking? Trupenie. Well Tibet and Annot, still swingyng and whiskyng?
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 28 Two serpents..Plasht the water sulcking to the shoare moste hastelye swinging.
b. transitive. To carry or drive forcibly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > forcibly
chase1340
rushc1384
runa1425
swingc1540
hurricano1702
barge1903
zap1967
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13299 Full swift to the swalgh me swinget the flode.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 14 With steeds he is swinged, downe picht in his hudge wagon emptye.
4. transitive †To draw out (a sword) with a vigorous movement (obsolete); to flourish, brandish, wave about; in later use with mixture of sense 7a and sense 12a: to wield (a weapon or implement), or move (a body held or grasped) with an oscillating or rotatory movement; also (Australian slang.), to swing Kelly (or Douglas), to wield an axe, to do axework.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > flourish or brandish
shakec1000
stirc1275
wagc1300
brandisha1340
flourishc1384
swinga1400
swinglec1450
ruffle?1562
sweak1567
vambrash1577
sway1590
swinge1605
to fetch about1609
wave1609
wheel1617
evibrate1654
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 806 Alexander..Swythe swyngis out his swerde.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. vii. 161 He..thame stoutly assalit,..And euer his schynand swerd about him swang.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7275 He..swynget out a sword, swappit at þat other.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10390 Þen he swange out a sword swicly with þat.
1574 A. Gilby tr. Test. Twelue Patriarches f. 27v I tooke hym by the hornes, and swinged him about, and finally killed him.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 108 The fierie Tybalt, with his sword preparde, Which..He swoong about his head. View more context for this quotation
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads iii. 393 An emptie helme, That then he swong about his head, and cast among his friends.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §310 Take Bottles, and Swing them.
1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode xl, in Steps to Temple 64 Swinging a huge sith stands impartiall Death.
1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 xcvii. 25 If some one approach to dare his force, He swings his tail.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1240 Go baffl'd coward, lest I..swing thee in the Air. View more context for this quotation
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Sallet Lettice, Cresses, Radish, &c. must..be..swing'd and shaken gently.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. xx. 321 He..swung his arms like the sails of a wind-mill.
1860 Ld. Tennyson Sea Dreams 24 For sideways up he swung his arms.
1873 B. Harte Episode of Fiddletown 107 Each swung a lasso.
1909 Stacpoole Pools of Silence xxx Adams had swung the man aloft and dashed him against the wall.
1945 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. i v. 78 Kelly and douglas, an axe (from the names of makers), with their derivatives to swing kelly or douglas, to do axework.
1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 98 The scholars..could have passed with honours in such subjects as milking, swinging Douglas, panning off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > revolve or rotate [verb (transitive)] > as (on) a wheel
turnOE
swinga1225
wheelc1374
to turn abouta1382
overwhelmc1440
swinge1548
a1225 Juliana 58 [He] dude..fore of his cnihtes forte turnen þat hweol..ant het swingen hit swiftliche abuten ant tidliche turnen.
6. (b)1773 E. Ives Voy. India i. ii. 27 On the 9th of April, annually, at Bengal the natives undergo a very uncommon kind of penance:..In a large plain about a mile from Calcutta, there are erected about thirty Bamboos, at least twenty feet high; on the top of these they contrive to fix a swivel, and another bamboo of thirty feet or more crosses it, at both ends of which hangs a rope. One end of this rope, the people pull down, and the devotee placing himself under it, the Brahmin pinches up a large piece of skin under both the shoulder blades,..and thrusts a strong iron-hook through each... When this is done, the people haul down the other end of the bamboo, by which means the devotee is immediately lifted up..from the ground, and then run round as fast as their legs will carry them. This throws the devotee out to the full length of the rope, where as he swings, he plays a thousand antic tricks.1793 Medical Spectator II. No. 39. 246 All the information that I could get from our Banyan relative to this strange custom was, that they swing for a good conscience.
a. intransitive. To move freely backwards and forwards, as a body suspended from a support above; to oscillate below a point of support, as a pendulum or the like. For spec. use in Hindu asceticism, see (b).Occasionally the intransitive sense corresponding to 7d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > swing
totterc1200
swing1545
vibrate1667
pendulate1698
swingle1755
pendulum1885
to play pendulum1893
society > faith > worship > sacrament > confession > penance > do penance [verb (intransitive)] > undergo Hindu penance
swing1545
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 14 Moche lyke the pastyme that boyes vse in the churche when their master is awaye, to swinge and totter in a belrope.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall xxvi. 202 We thought it not amiss to try if a Pendulum would swing faster, or continue swinging longer in our Receiver.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 96. ⁋5 His Arms naturally swang at an unreasonable Distance from his Sides.
1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 107 A bottle swinging at each side.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 133 A great beam, suspended on gudgeons at the middle, and swinging like the beam of a balance.
1839 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 19 The mocking birds are swinging and singing even now.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Galahad iii, in Poems (new ed.) II. 176 The shrill bell rings, the censer swings.
1844 A. B. Welby Poems (1867) 44 Her cottage bonnet filled with flowers, Hung swinging from her arm.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 52 Sir Aylmer Aylmer.., Whose blazing wyvern weathercock'd the spire,..And swang besides on many a windy sign.
a1900 R. Kipling Dedication vi One stone the more swings to her place In that dread Temple of Thy worth.
1912 H. Belloc Four Men 25 His arms dangled rather than swang.
b. Of a person: To move backwards and forwards through the air upon a suspended rope or a swing (swing n.2 11), as a sport; to ride in a swing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > other amusements or entertainments > [verb (intransitive)]
wawc1440
swing1662
quizc1790
sea-bathe1792
mudlark1870
pogo1921
yo-yo1932
to jump rope1934
1545 [see sense 6a].
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 93 They have also ropes to swing in.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 130 I saw ropes or cords stretched from tree to tree in several gardens, Boys and Girls..swinging upon them.
1720 J. Gay Shepherd's Week i. 104, in Poems II. 84 On two near elms the slacken'd cord I hung, Now high, now low my Blouzelinda swung.
c. Of a (suspended) bell: To give forth a sound by swinging; to sound, ring out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (transitive)] > swing > make sound by swinging
swing1645
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > bells
ringc1175
knella1375
clinkc1386
clapc1440
jangle1494
toll1551
knoll1582
chime1583
troll1607
tintinnate1623
swing1645
ding-dong1659
strike1677
jow1786
clam?a1800
to ring in1818
dinglea1839
to strike offa1843
dingle dongle1858
jowl1872
tankle1894
tintinnabulate1906
tong1907
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 40 Oft..I hear the far-off Curfeu sound, Over som wide-water'd shoar, Swinging slow with sullen roar.
1812 G. Colman Poet. Vagaries 85 A sound swung down the glen..From Bunamargy-Friery bell.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §6. 90 The burgesses gathered in town-mote when the bell swung out from St. Paul's.
d. figurative. To waver, vacillate; to change from one condition or position to the opposite (esp. in figurative phrases with pendulum as subject: see pendulum n. 3).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > be irresolute or vacillate [verb (intransitive)]
haltc825
flecchec1300
waverc1315
flickerc1325
wag1387
swervea1400
floghter1521
stacker1526
to be of (occasionally in) many (also divers) minds1530
wave1532
stagger1533
to hang in the wind1536
to waver as, like, with the wind1548
mammer1554
sway1563
dodge1568
erch1584
suspend1585
float1598
swag1608
hoverc1620
hesitate1623
vacillate1623
fluctuate1634
demur1641
balance1656
to be at shall I, shall I (not)1674
to stand shall I, shall I1674
to go shill-I shall-I1700
to stand at shilly-shally1700
to act, to keep (upon), the volanta1734
whiffle1737
dilly-dally1740
to be in (also of, occasionally on) two minds (also in twenty minds, in (also of) several minds, etc.)1751
oscillate1771
shilly-shally1782
dacker1817
librate1822
humdrum1825
swing1833
(to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1848
to back and fill1854
haver1866
wobble1867
shaffle1873
dicker1879
to be on the weigh-scales1886
waffle1894
to think twice1898
to teeter on the brink1902
dither1908
vagulate1918
pern1920
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > change of direction, reversion > revert [verb (intransitive)] > change to opposite condition
contrary1489
invert?1615
swing1833
counterchange1851
1833 T. Chalmers Bridgewater Treat. II. x. 106 We swing as it were between two assumptions.
1836 Penny Cycl. V. 300/1 The pendulum of opinion swings to the side opposite to that on which it has been unduly brought out of its position of equilibrium.
1877 R. Giffen Stock Exchange Securities 152 He should endeavour..not to invest when the pendulum has swung upwards.
1890 Retrospect Med. 102 378 I am by no means sure that the pendulum may not have swung too far in the opposite direction.
e. transitive. To mark or indicate by swinging; to swing seconds, to oscillate once in every second.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [verb (intransitive)] > oscillate at a specific rate (of pendulum)
to swing seconds1737
1737 W. Derham in Philos. Trans. 1735–6 (Royal Soc.) 39 202 The next Experiments I shall mention, I made..by the Help of a good Month-Piece that swings Seconds.
1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 373 A little clock..having a pendulum swinging seconds.
7.
a. transitive. To cause to oscillate, as a body suspended from a support above; to move or sway (something) to and fro in this or a similar manner. to swing a cat (i.e. holding it by the tail); in no room to swing a cat in and similar expressions, said of a confined or narrow space. to swing the lead: see lead n.1 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (transitive)] > swing
swing1560
poise1625
the world > space > [phrase] > insufficient room
no room to swing a cat in1665
standing room only1831
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxcv They hange out the dead body by a chaine ouer the walle, and after they had swynged it a whyle to and fro, they let it fall into the ditche.
1665 Medela Pestil. 57 They had not space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 5 When they walk, they swing their Corps like a Pendulum.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 5 I am pent up in frowzy lodgings, where there is not room enough to swing a cat.
1842 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. (ed. 3) xx. 543 The flasks should be well rinsed, and..swung in the hand to shake out adhering drops.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xvi. 198 The colonel..took his seat upon the table, and swung his legs.
1849 A. H. Clough Poems & Prose Remains (1869) II. 296 Big bees their burly bodies swung.
1850 C. Dickens David Copperfield xxxv. 353 Mrs. Crupp had indignantly assured him that there wasn't room to swing a cat there; but, as Mr. Dick justly observed to me,..‘You know, Trotwood, I don't want to swing a cat. I never do swing a cat.’
1906 J. J. Raven Bells 41 Arrangements for hanging bells in turrets and swinging them.
b. To cause (a person) to oscillate as in a swing; to give (one) a ride in a swing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > other amusements or entertainments > [verb (transitive)]
swing1615
hurl1893
pogo1921
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 56 By two ioyning ropes that are fastned aboue, they will swing themselues as high as the transome.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 492. ⁋3 They get on Ropes, as you must have seen the Children, and are swung by their Men Visitants.
1783 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies (new ed.) V. 40 Their slaves had no other employment but to swing them in their hammocks.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. iii. vii. 300 Come to-morrow, and swing Sophy—no nice swinging since you've been gone.
c. Of a bell: To send forth a peal of sound.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound (notes, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > bell
toll1452
chime1793
swing1817
knoll1842
stroke1901
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. viii. 163 The hour of twelve o'clock swung its summons over the city from the belfry.
1852 D. Rock Church our Fathers III. i. ix. 294 The bells in every church steeple swung forth their peals of gladsomeness.
d. To lift and transport (something suspended), as with a crane; transferred to convey or transport from point to point.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > convey or transport > by swinging or suspending
sway1815
swing1856
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xvi. 282 Men..swinging a block of granite..with an ordinary derrick.
1862 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe li Who could tire,..at the strange dim vista of swinging horses between decks?
18.. Jrnl. Mil. Service Inst. U.S. 10 588 (Cent. Dict.) By means of the railroad, troops can be swung across from bay to bay as the exigencies of the war may require.
e. reflexive. To hoist oneself up or transport oneself from point to point by grasping a support above. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving along with hands and feet or with body prone > move along with hands and feet or with body prone [verb (reflexive)] > haul oneself along > by swinging from point to point
swing1899
1899 S. R. Crockett Black Douglas i The young man..swung lightly off his charger.
1899 S. R. Crockett Black Douglas ii The Douglas swung himself into the saddle.
1902 V. Jacob Sheep-stealers xi Putting his foot on the axle and swinging himself up.
1907 J. H. Patterson Man-eaters of Tsavo xii. 133 All kinds of monkeys chatter..overhead as they swing themselves from branch to branch.
8. intransitive. To be suspended from a support above (without necessarily implying oscillation).
a. spec. To be hanged; to suffer death by hanging. slang or colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > hanging > be hanged [verb (intransitive)]
rideeOE
hangc1000
anhangc1300
wagc1430
totter?1515
to wave in the windc1515
swing1542
trine1567
to look through ——?1570
to preach at Tyburn cross1576
stretch?1576
to stretch a rope1592
truss1592
to look through a hempen window?a1600
gibbet1600
to have the lift1604
to salute Tyburn1640
to dance the Tyburn jig1664
dangle1678
to cut a caper on nothing1708
string1714
twist1725
to wallop in a tow (also tether)1786
to streek in a halter1796
to straight a ropea1800
strap1815
to dance upon nothing1837
to streek a tow1895
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 122 Diogenes..had a great zele..to see theim euery one swyngyng & tottreyng in halters.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. C4 What pennance can be greater for Pride, than to let it swinge in hys owne halter?
1725 New Canting Dict. To Swing, to hang.
1728 Street-robberies, Consider'd 8 They all lovingly swung together at Execution-Dock.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge lxii. 298 It is..a choice between his life and death. If you refuse, he swings.
1884 ‘E. Lyall’ We Two III. x. 256 I don't wish any man to swing for me—I have always disapproved of the death-penalty.
b. gen. To be suspended, to hang; transferred, to appear as if suspended (= hang v. 12). Also figurative, ( swing from, to depend or ‘hinge’ on).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or be suspended [verb (intransitive)]
hangc1000
resta1350
loll?c1418
uphangc1440
suspend1598
swing1641
swingle1755
string1885
1641 J. Tatham Distracted State v. i Agath. And now you see the Pinacle from which You must be tumbled down, away with him... Fellow. If you please to walk that way you may see Oleander swinging for his life.
1781 W. Cowper Charity 615 His Budget, often filled, yet always poor, Might swing at ease behind his study door.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. xi. 346 ‘Yonder swings the Flying Stag,’ said Ital, pointing to an immense sign.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 10 A purple scarf, at either end whereof There swung an apple of the purest gold.
1869 A. J. Evans Vashti xix. 251 In the west, where a waning moon swung on the edge of the distant misty hills.
1888 G. A. Smith Bk. Isaiah (1891) xiii. 229 As this one [word] is obscure in its English guise, and the passage really swings from it, we may devote a paragraph to its meaning.
1898 H. R. Haggard Dr. Therne i. 14 A lantern swung from the roof of the coach.
9.
a. transitive. To hang, suspend; rarely, to hang (a person), put to death by hanging (slang or colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > hang or suspend [verb (transitive)]
ahangOE
hangc1000
to hang upa1400
knagc1400
peisea1425
suspendc1440
swing1529
sling1697
uphang1748
gibbet1749
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > hanging > hang [verb (transitive)]
hangc1000
anhangOE
forhangc1300
to loll up1377
gallowa1400
twitchc1450
titc1480
truss1536
beswinga1566
trine1567
to turn over1570
to turn off1581
to turn (a person) on the toe1594
to stretch1595
derrick1600
underhang1603
halter1616
staba1661
noose1664
alexander1666
nub1673
ketch1681
tuck1699
gibbet1726
string1728
scrag1756
to hang up1771
crap1773
patibulate1811
strap1815
swing1816
croak1823
yardarm1829
to work off1841
suspercollatea1863
dangle1887
1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters iii. xi. 82 b In the tother [wallet] he layeth vp all hys owne and swyngeth yt at hys backe.
1811 Gen. Regulations & Orders Army 249 The Men's Hammocks must be swung regularly by Companies.
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master vii. 202 Had he the pow'r he'd change the case, And swing some col'nels in their place.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur i. xliii A slender draw-bridge, swung from brink to brink.
1860 All Year Round 15 Sept. 550 The heavy vehicle so ill swung,..as springless as an artillery tumbril.
1911 M. Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson v. 61 You would be driven to Court in my state-coach. It is swung so high that the streetsters can hardly see its occupant.
b. To strain (the back of a horse): = sway v. 5b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > cause injury or disease of horse [verb (transitive)] > strain back or shoulder
sway1611
splat1614
sore-back1835
swing1844
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1258 If she [sc. a mare]..has met with an accident, such as having swung her back.
10. intransitive. To oscillate (without suspension); to move to and fro, or from side to side; to sway; to hover; spec. to sway the body backward and forward in rowing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > sway
wawc888
swang1340
waltera1375
swayve1377
swayc1500
nod1578
weave1596
showd1599
swing1607
swag1608
slinger1767
wintle1786
swale1820
daven1977
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois v. 64 Not so the surges of the euxine Sea..Swell being enrag'd..As Fortune swings about the restlesse state Of vertue.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses iv. 17 If the Coach swung but the least to one side, she used to shriek so loud, that all the Street concluded she was overturn'd.
1835 W. Wordsworth Stanzas Power of Sound x, in Yarrow Revisited 318 While Fauns and Satyrs beat the ground In cadence,—and Silenus swang This way and that, with wild-flowers crowned.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 101 A single hawk swung in the atmosphere above us.
1879 Oxf. & Cambr. Undergraduate Jrnl. 13 Mar. 292/2 Prest is getting more and more used to the bow side, but he still swings short and stiffly.
11.
a. To turn in alternate directions, or in either direction (usually horizontally), around a fixed axis or point of support; spec. Nautical said of a vessel riding at a single anchor or moored by the head, and turning with the wind or tide. Also with to, open, wide, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > turn round or to face a direction > turn (as) on a pivot or swing round
turnOE
revirec1485
virec1485
circumlate1578
swing1769
slew1823
swivel1846
pivot1883
jib1891
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine To Swing, to turn round the anchors, or moorings, at the change of the wind, or tide.
1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 929 While safely she at anchor swings.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. ii. 67 It is the iron gate, Which ye left open, swinging to the wind.
1860 A. Cumming in Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 102 Let them..swing to one anchor.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash xx But in the middle of the joyous whirl, Julia's quick ear on the watch all the time, heard the gate swing to.
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 215 The shot will.. fly in that direction in which the gun was swinging when the charge of shot left the muzzle.
1892 A. C. Gunter Miss Dividends (1893) 33 He swings around suddenly and quickly to see who interrupts him.
b. To go along or round in a curve or with a sweeping motion; to wheel, sweep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > move in a circle or curve [verb (intransitive)] > move in curve
windc1385
sweep1725
rip1798
swing1810
swipe1825
scythe1897
arc1954
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 25 So forth the startled swan would swing.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia II. vii. 183 A choir of nymphs swung round him hand in hand.
1856 S. Warner Hills of Shatemuc xxxv With wind and headway the sloop gently swang up to her appointed place.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xv. 275 In marched Hereward and all his men, and swung round through the gateway into the court.
1914 Times 8 Sept. 9/1 The battle line proceeds due east to Sézanne and Vitry-le-François, and then swings north-east round the plain of Châlons to the fortress of Verdun.
c. to swing around the circle, to make a political tour of a constituency or larger area. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > travel about or visit many places > tour > with brief stops
to swing around the circle1866
whistle-stop1952
1866 E. McPherson Polit. Man. v. 58 We swing around the circle of the Union with a fixed and unalterable determination to stand by it.
1871 G. W. Peck Adventures of Terence McGrant iv. 27 Until me Cousin Ulissis gets through swinging around the circle.
1887 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. President Andrew Johnson originated the phrase ‘swinging round the circle’ on the occasion of his famous tour to Chicago..in September, 1866.
1910 N.Y. Evening Post 29 Oct. 2 To stem the rising tide against him, Col. Roosevelt is to swing around the circle in Brooklyn to-night.
d. Cricket. Of a bowler: to impart swing to the ball on delivery. Also with the ball as subj. Cf. swing n.2 8g.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (intransitive)] > manner of bowling
to bowl short1851
to bowl with one's head1851
swerve1894
swing1900
dolly1963
no-ball1982
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (intransitive)] > motion of ball
to make haste?a1475
twist?1801
cut1816
shoot1816
curl1833
hang1838
work1838
break1847
spin1851
turn1851
bump1856
bite1867
pop1871
swerve1894
to kick up1895
nip1899
swing1900
google1907
move1938
seam1960
to play (hit, etc.) across the line1961
1900 P. F. Warner Cricket in Many Climes 84 Morton..has a beautiful natural action, and swings in the air with his arm.
1900 P. F. Warner Cricket in Many Climes 179 Rowe..has, too, a very good fast ‘yorker’ which swings in the air.
1952 M.C.C. Cricket Coaching Bk. ii. 37 The farther up the ball is pitched, the more ‘room’ it has in which to swing.
1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 30/1 Bowling medium-pace, he got the ball to swing in the heavy atmosphere.
e. Of a spacecraft: to pass by a planet using its gravitational field to change course.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > space flight > [verb (intransitive)] > change course using gravitation
swing1967
1967 [implied in: Britannica Bk. of Year 1966 804/3 Swing-by, an interplanetary mission in which a space vehicle utilizes the gravitational field of a planet near which it passes for changing course (a swing-by through the gravitational field of Venus on the way to Mars). (at swing-by n. at swing- comb. form 2a)].
1970 Nature 1 Aug. 434/2 The spacecraft will be launched in the autumn of 1973, swinging by Venus at a distance of 3,000 miles.
1976 Sci. Amer. May 116/2 These two spacecraft are scheduled to be launched in 1977 and to swing by Jupiter in 1979.
12.
a. transitive. To cause to turn in alternate directions, or in either direction, on or as on an axis or pivot; to turn or cause to face in another direction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > turn (something) to a (different) direction > turn (as) on a pivot or swivel
swing1768
slew1769
swivel1794
slewc1825
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. xxii. 114 The boy who wished to be a king that he might have an officer appointed to swing him all day long upon a gate.
1783 W. Cowper Epit. on Hare 24 To skip and gambol like a hare And swing his rump around.
1785 W. Cowper Epist. to J. Hill in Task 286 Swinging the parlour door upon its hinge.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ix, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 253 Ae leaf of the muckle gate has been swung to wi' yestreen's wind.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 284/1 What maddening whirls when he called, ‘Swing partners!’
1887 Field 19 Feb. 223/2 A good practical exponent of ‘the art of shooting flying’ states..that he never met with a first-rate shot who ‘swings’ his gun—i.e. keeps it moving in the direction of the bird's flight.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right I. vi. 139 The base line is altered or ‘swung’, i.e. freshly marked on another imaginary course.
1892 E. Gosse Secr. Narcisse iii. 80 As he was about to turn towards the window, Rosalie swang herself violently back.
b. Nautical. To turn (a ship) to all points in succession, in order to ascertain the deviation of her magnetic compass.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [verb (transitive)] > turn ship to ascertain deviation
swing1859
1859 in Mercantile Marine Mag. (1860) 7 49 The necessity of having all iron steamships..swung, in order to ascertain the deviation of their compasses.
1878 W. J. J. Spry Cruise Her Majesty's Ship ‘Challenger’ (ed. 7) x. 176 Some hours were spent swinging for magnetical purposes.
c. To drive or cause to move in a curve; also, to make or execute by moving in a curve (in to swing a cast, in hunting: see cast n. 41).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > cause to move in circle or curve [verb (transitive)] > cause to move in curve
wind1598
swing1819
sweep1845
1819 J. G. Lockhart Peter's Lett. to Kinsfolk III. lxix. 203 The balls..being swung to and fro in a terrific manner, by means of long queues with elastic shafts.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. xi. 295 The hounds dash towards the fence beyond, and swing their cast without a whimper.
1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! v. 46 He swings his team into the Avenue de l'Impératrice.
1897 Outing 30 127/1 The dogs have changed direction by the left flank... We swing them, make a short cut through a bit of brush.
d. In figurative phrase to swing it on or across (someone) = to put it across at put v. Phrasal verbs 1 s.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > befool, dupe [phrase]
to put an ape in a person's hoodc1330
to glaze one's houvec1369
to cough (a person) a daw, fool, momea1529
to make a fool of1534
to give (any one) the bobc1540
to lead (a person) a dancea1545
to make (someone) an ass1548
to make (a person) an ox1566
to play bob-fool witha1592
to sell any one a bargain1598
to put the fool on1649
to make a monkey (out) of1767
to play (a person) for a sucker (also fool, etc.)1869
to string (someone) along1902
to swing it on or across1923
1923 Daily Mail 16 June 11 Too experienced to let even a thundering smart girl swing it on him as easily as that.
a1935 T. E. Lawrence Mint (1955) i. xi. 39 ‘Swinging it on the..rookies, they are, the old sweats’ grumbled Tug.
1943 N. Marsh Colour Scheme iv. 64 You saw Questing swing it across me.
e. to swing the gate (see quot. 1933). Cf. drag v. 9b and swing-gate n. at swing- comb. form 2a. Australian and New Zealand slang.
ΚΠ
1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 16 Dec. 21/8 Swing the gate, to be the fastest shearer in the shed.
1941 S. J. Baker N.Z. Slang v. 39 From the New Zealand shearing sheds came those effective expressions to drag the chain and swing the gate, phrases applied to the slowest and the fastest shearer in a shed respectively.
1965 J. S. Gunn Terminol. Shearing Industry ii. 12 A ringer is..said to ‘swing the gate’, presumably because he keeps the catching-pen gate swinging.
f. To turn a starting-handle in order to start (a motor vehicle, its engine). Also with over. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > work with tools or equipment [verb (transitive)] > lathe
chuck1869
swing1927
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > drive a motor vehicle > start in specific manner
swing1927
push-start1957
bump-start1967
tow-start1976
1927 R. Lehmann Dusty Answer iii. 164 It took ten minutes to get the car started, with Martin and Roddy madly swinging her by turns.
a1938 in T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 495 S[haw] was asked to swing the car for the old boy.
1957 L. F. R. Williams State of Israel iv. 42 Two men break off for a moment from swinging the engine of a tractor.
1977 Daily Tel. 12 Jan. 10/2 Attempting to ‘swing over’ modern high-compression engines would tax the strength of all but the most muscular.
g. Cricket. Of a bowler: to bowl (the ball) with swing. Cf. swing n.2 8g.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > bowl [verb (transitive)] > bowl in specific manner
twist1816
overthrow1833
to bowl over the wicket1851
overpitch1851
bump1869
york1882
to break a ball1884
flog1884
to bowl round (or formerly outside) the wicket1887
turn1898
flick1902
curl1904
spin1904
volley1909
flight1912
to give (a ball) air1920
tweak1935
move1938
overspin1940
swing1948
bounce1960
cut1960
seam1963
dolly1985
1948 J. Arlott How to watch Cricket iii. 14 The term ‘seam-bowler’ is almost identical [with ‘pace bowler’] since it refers to those bowlers who use the seam to swing, or cut the ball.
13. intransitive. To go along with undulating or swaying movement, or in a vigorous manner; to walk with swinging step. (See also swinging adj. 3a.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > with swaying motion
swing1854
1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) lxii. 443 Pulling up at the door of the Turtle Doves Hotel, he threw himself carelessly off the half cover-hack..and..swung into the hall with a noisy flourish.
1884 W. Black in Harper's Mag. Dec. 30/2 The coach swings along pleasantly.
1894 J. A. Steuart In Day of Battle xviii The camels, swinging at a steady trot.
14.
a. transitive. figurative. To direct or control the movement or action of; to sway; to wield. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)]
wieldeOE
redeOE
temperc1000
wisc1000
yemec1000
aweldc1175
guy13..
rule1340
attemperc1374
stightlea1375
justifya1393
governa1400
moder1414
control1495
moderate1534
rein1557
manage1560
sway1587
to bear (a rein) upon1603
bridle1615
ephorize1647
puppet1840
coact1855
boss1856
run1869
swing1873
1873 ‘M. Twain’ & C. D. Warner Gilded Age xlv. 405 You will find we can swing a two-thirds vote.
1889 Voice (N.Y.) 2 May The rum wing purposes swinging the party. The temperance innocents will have to submit or step out.
1890 ‘M. Twain’ in Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Sept. 3/2 His great charm to me is the way he swings nervous English!
1908 U. Sinclair Money-changers ii. 35 He can swing the market so as to break a man.
1923 ‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza iii. 40 I want one that can swing something besides his tongue.
b. To bring (something uncertain) about; to contrive or manage; to ‘wangle’. Frequently with it. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > make a success of [verb (transitive)] > manage to secure (a result) > succeed in by ingenuity
devise1340
to suck (something) out of (or at) one's (own) fingers' ends1540
swing1934
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot (a purpose) or hatch (a plot [verb (transitive)] > bring or get by intrigue
shuffle1583
intrigue1672
wangle1888
swing1934
1934 E. Pound Let. 7 Jan. (1971) 250 A guy named Collis... Wants me to edit a mag again. I have replied that..I wd. edit an annual... If he swings it, I shd. want to see a batch of yr. mss. in say about 6 months' time.
1937 P. G. Wodehouse Summer Moonshine (1938) i. 14 ‘The idea is to get him to trim the thing a little.’ ‘How do you expect to swing that?’
1941 B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? vi. 104 And Julian actually has a real job?.. How the hell did you swing it?
1955 ‘J. Christopher’ Year of Comet ii. 77 I'm not promising anything, but there's a chance I may be able to swing something useful there.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed x. 71 Phil had gotten himself a white nest-egg. Now how..could a half-broke addict-musician have swung that?
1975 M. Bradbury Hist. Man viii. 138 You can't con me, but you might swing it with someone else.
15.
a. To fix (the work) on the centre or centres in a lathe.
ΚΠ
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 120 The work is ‘swung’ or arranged so as to yield to unequal pressure in polishing.
b. Of a lathe: To have a ‘swing’ or capacity of (so much): see swing n.2 8d.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > of lathe: operate [verb (intransitive)] > have swing (of specific diameter)
swing1889
1889 P. N. Hasluck Model Engineer's Handybk. 22 Three inch centres—that is, a lathe which swings six inches.
16.
a. Music. intransitive. To play jazz music with swing (see swing n.2 10b). Also, to swing it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform music [verb (intransitive)] > specific style or technique > in jazz
go1926
ride1929
swing1931
tear1932
to play (it) straight1933
groove1935
riff1935
give1936
jumpc1938
to beat it out1945
walk1951
cook1954
move1955
wail1955
stretch1961
1918 (title of music) Swinging along.
1928 (title of music) Swing on the gait.]
1931 (title of music) Swing it.
1933 Fortune Aug. 47/1 Returning to Trombonist Brown, he can get off, swing it, sock it, smear it, or go to town (all of which mean syncopate to beat the band).
1934 Esquire Feb. 96/2 This still leaves a comfortable margin of popular acclaim for the boys who couldn't read it, but who, in the parlance of hot, knew how to swing it.
1935 Swing Music Nov.–Dec. 248/2 In the Duke's band the brass section may swing while the rhythm-section and reed-section provide a harmonic..background.
1937 L. Armstrong Swing that Music xiii. 114 A lot of Americans in Paris came to hear me swing.
1955 in N. Shapiro & N. Hentoff Hear me talkin' to Ya xviii. 289 Don't let Benny scare you, you're a piano player, Johnny—and you swing.
1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 iii. 48 The early crowd tends to dig your Radio Cologne sound. Later on we really swing.
1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' viii. 125 He sometimes plays pure ‘Palm Court’.., and without that extra lift which can make a band swing.
b. Music. transitive. To play (a tune) with swing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform (music) [verb (transitive)] > specific style or technique > in jazz
sock1927
groove1935
swing1936
to put down1952
1936 (title of music) Swingin' them Jingle Bells.
1938 Times Herald (Dallas) 1 Apr. iii. 11 The Detroit station pull[ed] ..Tommy off the air for ‘swinging’ Loch Lomond.
1947 Penguin Music Mag. II May 28 His instructions in the introduction to the score are that these are to be slightly ‘swung’, and he admits the influence upon his music of all Negro spirituals.
1954 Grove's Dict. Music (ed. 5) 600/2 A score can at most be more or less susceptible to being ‘swung’. One band may swing an arrangement while another may play the same arrangement without a touch of swing.
1968 Blues Unlimited Nov. 23 The waltz, swung so gently and delicately by the cajuns, is in constant demand.
c. intransitive. To enjoy oneself, have fun, esp. in pursuit of what is considered fashionable or in a manner free of conventional constraints; to be up to date. Also of a place, to provide lively enjoyment.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [verb (intransitive)] > follow fashion
to be in the fashion1569
modea1661
to be with it1931
swing1957
to get with it1961
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > [verb (intransitive)] > provide lively entertainment
swing1957
1957 N. Mailer in Dissent Summer 288 Still I am just one cat in a world of cool cats, and everything interesting is crazy, or at least so the Squares who do not know how to swing would say.
1966 Reporter 24 Mar. 22/1 Surprising nightlife. Amsterdam swings.
1967 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 Jan. 30 He has to really swing: Motor-cycle racing, free-fall parachuting, [etc.].
1975 D. Lodge Changing Places ii. 59 Jane Austen and the Theory of Fiction. Professor Morris J. Zapp... ‘He makes Austen swing,’ was one comment.
1983 Times 25 Oct. 10/1 The fashion collections..are supposed to have proved..that ‘London swings again’.
d. To engage in (promiscuous) sexual intercourse; spec. to advocate or engage in group sex or swapping sexual partners. Also, to swing both ways, to enjoy both heterosexual and homosexual relations. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > bisexuality > be bisexual [verb (intransitive)]
to swing both ways1964
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [verb (intransitive)] > be promiscuous
to play legerdeheel1605
to put it about1817
to do the (also a) naughty1902
to fool around1923
sleep1928
to play around1929
alleycat1937
to screw around1939
bed-hop1943
tom1950
horse1953
to whore it up1956
swing1964
1964 W. & J. Breedlove Swap Clubs iii. 73 Almost everyone in the group knows one or more couples with which they swing who were not accepted by the recruitment committee.
1970 E. M. Brecher Sex Researchers ix. 251 If only one-tenth of one percent of married couples (one couple in a thousand) swing, however, the total still adds up to some 45,000 swinging American couples.
1972 J. G. Vermandel Last seen in Samarra xxii. 153 As for the mystery that still surrounded Robin Aseltine's death, the police had picked up and questioned several former girl and boy friends, Robin having been found to swing both ways.
e. Of a party: to go with a swing (see swing n.2 6f). colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > attending or giving party > attend or give party [verb (intransitive)] > of party: go with a swing
swing1975
1963 Amer. Speech 38 171 [Kansas University slang.] A particularly rough and noisy party..swinger.]
1975 D. Lodge Changing Places ii. 87 The party's beginning to swing.
1978 J. Anderson Angel of Death xii. 128 They were trying hard to make the party swing, but..there seemed a forced air about the revelry.
Draft additions 1993
b. To throw (a punch), esp. in to swing a right (or left). Also absol., to strike or flail at with the fist. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1894 A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets 138 It was a hard fight, and both the lads were swinging the right again and again for a knock-out.
1920 Collier's 3 July 34/4 The other guy prob'ly didn't hear me because on the instant he swung a roundhouse left, square on the Kid's unprotected face.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror viii. 147 She..swung her right and plugged Slingsby a perfect beauty in the eye.
1946 Sun (Baltimore) 14 Dec. 2/6 Mr. Collins leaped to his feet and swung a round-house right at the witness.
1974 P. Cave Dirtiest Picture Postcard xiii. 85 She swung at her empty glass, sending it flying across the smooth bar-top to smash against a row of optics.
1976 Publishers Weekly 5 Jan. 63/3 In this stimulating and controversial history of that period, Lukacs comes out swinging at a lot of cherished myths.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† swingv.2
Obsolete.
intransitive. To labour, toil; = swink v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > [verb (intransitive)] > work hard or toil
workeOE
swingc1000
to the boneOE
labourc1390
toilc1400
drevyll?1518
drudge1548
droy1576
droil1591
to tug at the (an) oar1612
to stand to it1632
rudge1676
slave1707
to work like a beaver1741
to hold (also keep, bring, put) one's nose to the grindstone1828
to feague it away1829
to work like a nigger1836
delve1838
slave1852
leather1863
to sweat one's guts out1890
hunker1903
to sweat (also work) one's guts out1932
to eat (also work) like a horse1937
beaver1946
to work like a drover's dog1952
to get one's nose down (to)1962
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil
sweatc897
swingc1000
swinkOE
travailc1275
carka1350
tavec1350
to-swinkc1386
labourc1390
byswenke?a1400
tevelc1400
toilc1400
pingle1511
carp1522
moilc1529
turmoil1548
mucker1566
tug1619
tuggle1650
fatigue1695
hammer1755
fag1772
bullock1888
slog1888
to sweat one's guts out1890
schlep1937
slug1943
c1000 Ælfric Exodus xviii. 14 Hwæt dest þu on þis folce? hwi swingst þu ana?
c1000 Ags. Ps. cxxvi[i]. 1 Buton drihten timbriende hus on ydel swingað ða ðe timbriað hi.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) l. 3733 He swang [c1275 Calig. swonc] in þan fihte þat he leþerede a swote.
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 3589 Herhaud þat day so sore swong, Þat þurch his mouþe þe fom it sprong.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 586 Þat swange & swat for long ȝore.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Lamb l. 2752 in Poems (1981) 102 His seruand nor his self may not be spaird To swing and sweit withoutin meit or wage.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
† swingadv.
Obsolete. rare.
With a sudden blow or impact; ‘slap’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > [adverb] > with sudden impact
swingc1400
dab1600
bump1724
spank1810
whop1812
c1400 St. Alexius (Laud 108) 443 As man þat hadde deþes wounde He fel swingge doun to grounde.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
> see also
also refers to : swing-comb. form
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n.1c1000
n.2a1400n.31830
v.1c725v.2c1000adv.c1400see also