▪ I. swimming, vbl. n.
(ˈswɪmɪŋ)
[f. swim v. + -ing1.]
The action of the verb swim.
1. The action of moving along in the water by natural means of progression.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 166 He þat neuere ne dyued ne nouȝt can of swymmynge. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xxix. [xxx.] (Bodl. MS.) lf. 263 b/1 In swymmynge þe strenger [harts] swymmeþ bifore. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxxviii. (1811) 277 Swymynge of fysshes, & fleynge of fowlys. 1533 Bellenden Livy iv. xiv. (S.T.S.) II. 99 Vthiris þat war crafty in swomyng war sa sare woundit..þat þai drownit in þe streme. 1638 Rawley tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1650) 40 Exercise within cold water, as swimming, is very good. 1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner (1907) 90 The larger your pondes or rivers be,..and the more moved by horse, geese and ducks, in their sweeming, the sweeter it will be. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl., Let. to Sir W. Phillips 1 July, I love swimming as an exercise, and can enjoy it at all times of the tide. 1835 Partington's Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. II. 803/2 In ordinary easy swimming, the hands are not used to propel, but merely to assist in keeping on the surface. |
2. a. The action of moving or floating on the surface of the water, as a ship.
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 405 The Fire so burn'd the upper Part, that it soon made them unfit for swimming in the Sea as Boats. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. (1842) 62 When surrounded by the fluid, its density was in some degree judged of by the sinking or swimming of the included bulb. |
b. concr. A thing which floats upon the surface.
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1262 The swimmings, or light grains that are skimmed off in the cistern. |
† 3. A watered pattern in a fabric.
Obs. rare.
| 1611 Florio, Nuóta, a waue, a swimming as in damaske or chamblet. |
4. A state of dizziness or giddiness; vertigo.
Usually
swimming of the head or brain.
| 1530 Palsgr. 278/2 Swymyng in the hed, bestournement. 1556 Withals Dict. (1568) 72 b/1 Swimming in the heade, vertigo. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxi. (1887) 90 It is commended for a remedie against the swiming of the head. 1601 Holland Pliny xxi. xxx. II. 111 It is good for the swimming and dizzinesse of the braine. 1684 W. Russell Phys. Treatise 135 A Man of middle Age having..a Swimming in his Head. 1770 Foote Lame Lover ii, A faintness, a kind of swimming. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) xiii. 305, I could not look over a precipice without a swimming in the head. |
| fig. 1649 Milton Eikon. xxviii. 240 Upon a sudden qualm and swimming of thir conscience. |
5. An appearance as of something floating or wavering before the eyes.
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 95 My knees trembled..; a swimming came before my eyes. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl., Let. to Lewis 8 May, The continual swimming of those phantoms before my eyes, gave me a swimming of the head. 1833 L. Ritchie Wand. Loire 234 He was affected by a reeling of the brain and a swimming of the eyes. |
6. attrib. and
Comb., as
swimming-apparatus,
swimming-belt,
swimming costume,
swimming-fin,
swimming-foot,
swimming-girdle,
swimming-leg,
swimming-organ,
swimming-paddle,
swimming-paw,
swimming-plate,
swimming suit,
swimming trunks,
swimming-web;
swimming-bath,
swimming-place,
swimming-pond,
swimming-school;
swimming-bell, a bell-shaped part or organ, as a nectocalyx, by which an animal propels itself through the water;
swimming-bladder, (
a) the air-bladder of a fish, which enables it to keep its balance in swimming; (
b) an inflated bladder to assist a person in swimming;
swimming hole chiefly
U.S.,
Austral., and
N.Z., a bathing place in a stream or river;
swimming pool, an artificial pool designed for swimming in;
swimming-tub Calico-printing etc., a tub of colours, with a floating layer of fabric, on which a block is laid to colour its surface.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Swimming-apparatus.., a float or dress to sustain a person in the water. 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, Swimming-apparatus, in Azolla, three apical episporic spongy masses of tissue, surrounding a central conical body with an array of fine filaments (Campbell). |
| 1742 Daily Advertiser 28 May (N. & Q. 10th Ser. X. 89), The Pleasure or *Swimming Bath, which is more than forty-three Feet in length. 1868 A. J. Symonds Let. 29 July (1967) I. 828, I went..to the Victoria Swimming Baths, as I occasionally do, to smoke my cigar & to learn the secrets of Form. 1892 H. Lane Differ. Rheum. Dis. (ed. 2) 103 The ladies' swimming bath at the New Royal Baths. 1982 Financial Times 9 Dec. 9/1 Proposals are being investigated for private sector school meals and cleaning, the running of swimming baths, [etc.]. |
| 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 27 The ‘nectocalyces’, or ‘*swimming bells’, with which the hydrosoma may be provided. |
| 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports 512/1 Various kinds of Apparatus have been recommended for sustaining the body, as cork-jackets, *swimming-belts, bladders, &c. |
| 1713 Derham Phys. Theol. 10 note, If the *Swimming-Bladder of any Fish be pricked or broken, such a Fish sinks presently to the bottom. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 155 Isinglass..is prepared from the sound or swimming-bladder of the sturgeon. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. ii. (1883) 32 Don't puncture their swimming-bladders; don't break the ends of their brittle and unstable reputations. |
| 1904 R. Thomas Swimming 112 It is very difficult to get photographs of amateur ladies in *swimming costume. 1962 F. C. Avis Swimming Dict. 95 Swimsuit, a superior or elegant swimming costume, with particular reference to the female bather. 1977 N. Slater Crossfire iii. 58 A twenty-nine-year-old married woman..who wore a bathing cap and a one-piece swimming costume. |
| 1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1860, 240 The animal has a broad *swimming fin, armed with an operculum. |
| Ibid. 234 Aclesia is like Aplysia, without shell or *swimming flaps. |
| 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxii. (1818) II. 303 The envelope of the intermediate tarsi..is fringed on one side with hairs, to enable the insects to use them as *swimming feet. |
| 1626 Bacon New Atl. 42 Wee haue Shipps and Boates for Going under Water, and Brooking of Seas; Also *Swimming-Girdles and Supporters. 1700 T. Brown Amusem. Ser. & Com. 111 Under that Bulk was a Projector clicking off his Swimming Girdles, to keep up Merchants Credits from sinking. 1835 Partington's Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. II. 803/2 The swimming girdle, about five inches wide, is placed round the pupil's breast. |
| 1867 G. W. Harris Sut Lovingood 25 He wer aimin fur the *swimin hole in the krick. 1912 J. H. Moore Ethics & Educ. 128 The boy's love for the water, his affection for the old swimming-hole. 1928 [see bogy2, bogey2]. 1975 D. Bagley Snow Tiger ii. 33 The bluff..projected into the river..and that was where they had their swimming hole. |
| 1871 Darwin Desc. Man ii. ix. I. 328 The males..alone are furnished with perfect *swimming-legs. |
| 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 115 The endodermal lining of the polypite passes into the central cavity of the *swimming-organ. |
| 1895 Oracle Encycl. I. 567/2 The forelimbs, represented by *swimming-paddles, are of small size. |
| 1808 J. Fleming in Mem. Wernerian Nat. Hist. Soc. (1811) I. 134 There were two *swimming-paws (if I may be allowed the expression), corresponding to the pectoral fins in fishes, situated in the forepart of the body [of the narwal] towards the under-side. |
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Nadadero, a *swimming place. |
| 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 417 The lateral swimming-pieces at the extremity of the tail..are thrown back at its sides... The six or four following legs terminate in a *swimming-plate. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1443 A garden containing a bowling-green, quoit-ground, cricket-ground, *swimming-pond, and baths. |
| 1899 Scribner's Mag. Advertiser Jan. 26/2 You can enjoy..a plunge into the great marble *swimming pool, where the water is tempered according to season. 1921 A. Huxley Crome Yellow iii. 19 The stone-brimmed swimming-pool. 1972 Punch 1 Mar. 266/3 Our goals are increasingly the same—a bigger car, an expense account, and a swimming⁓pool in every back garden. |
| 1835 Partington's Brit. Cycl. Arts & Sci. II. 803/2 Every *swimming school ought to have a leaping tower. |
| 1742 Daily Advertiser 18 May (N. & Q. 10th Ser. X. 89), *Swimming-Stays are made by the above Exchange-Keeper to the utmost Perfection. |
| 1926 E. Hemingway Sun also Rises ii. xix. 245, I found my *swimming suit, wrapped it with a comb in a towel. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird vi. 83 My swimming-suit, helmet and towel. |
| 1943 New Yorker 22 May 26/1 He was big, stalwart, and dressed only in *swimming trunks. 1978 I. Murdoch Sea 70 Shall I come and bring my swimming trunks? |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 240 The *swimming or colour-tub is usually double, and serves for two tables. |
| 1871 Darwin Desc. Man. ii. xii. II. 24 The hind-feet are provided with a *swimming web. |
▪ II. swimming, ppl. a. (
ˈswɪmɪŋ)
[f. swim v. + -ing2.] That swims, in various senses.
1. Moving along in the water by natural means of progression; that habitually swims, as some birds and insects.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. i. 20 Teon nu þa wæteru forð swimmende cynn cucu on life. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 310 He ᵹescop eall wyrmcynn & creopende & fleoᵹende & swymmende. c 1460 Towneley Myst. i. 55 The water to norish the fysh swymand. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 134 Poor Tom, that eates the swimming Frog. 1804 Shaw Gen. Zool. V. 463 Swimming Pegasus... Native of the Indian seas. 1859 Todd's Cycl. Anat. Index, Swimming birds (Natatores). 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. ii. ix. (ed. 2) 232 The spider crab, and swimming or velvet crab, are also eaten. |
b. fig. Characterized by easy smooth motion or progress, as of a person swimming; free from obstruction or difficulty.
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 88 During a swimming period of six years, I scarce remember to have experienced the smallest discontent. 1830 in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 320 Emigration is going on at a swimming rate. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. xxii. (1857) 496, I..carried my election by a swimming majority. |
c. Stock Exchange. (See
quot.)
| 1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Myst. Wall Str. 138 Swimming market—the opposite of a sick market. Everything is buoyant. |
2. Floating in the water;
spec. in
Bot. (see
quot. 1859).
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 60 Se swymmenda arc [= Noah's ark]. 1548 Turner Names Herbes 65 Potamogeton..maye be named in englishe Pondplantayne, or swymmynge plantayne. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cclxxxvii. 680 (heading) Of Duckes meate, and other swimming herbes. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 1 A Ship of War... It's the most admirable swimming Contrivance, that ever mortal Thought brought forth. 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Swimming or Floating leaf. 1859 Henslow Dict. Bot. Terms, Swimming, used vaguely for aquatics, which either float on the surface, or have their leaves floating. More restrictedly applied to aquatics which are wholly immersed, and also free from attachment to the bottom. 1870 tr. Pouchet's Universe (1871) 42 The swimming fucus or sea-weed. 1879 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (ed. 6) I. xiii. 374 When the pole of an ordinary magnet is brought to act upon the swimming needle [i.e. floating upon a liquid]. |
b. swimming stone: a kind of stone so light as to float upon water;
= float-stone 2.
| 1758 Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 111 In a copper-mine..near Redruth, they have a stone which they call the Swimming-stone. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 199/2 Cavernous quartz is termed Spongiform quartz or Swimming stone. |
† c. fig. Wavering, unsteady.
Obs. rare.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 71 Certaine strange dreames..which wel she hoped were but idle swimming fancies of no consequence. 1603 Bacon Valerius Terminus i. Wks. 1857 III. 239 As far as a swimming anticipation could take hold. |
† d. fig. Superficial, on the surface.
Obs. rare.
| a 1679 T. Goodwin Work of Holy Spirit v. vi. Wks. 1703 V. i. 205 An abundance..of swimming knowledg, common enlightning. |
† 3. Of the carriage of the body: Characterized by a smooth waving motion.
Obs.| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 130 Which she with pretty and with swimming gate Following..Would imitate, and saile vpon the Land. 1694 N. H. Ladies Dict. 169/2 A Swimming Gate, or an affected Pace, as if you were..measuring the ground by the Foot as you pass along. Ibid. 495/2 He..admires her swiming Carriage. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 52 ¶2 That swimming Air of your Body. 1731 Lady M. W. Montagu Poems, Farew. to Bath vi, Somerville, of courteous mien,..With swimming Haws, and Brownlow blithe. |
4. Overflowing (in
quot. transf.).
| c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. xcviii. iii, You streamy rivers clapp your swymming hands. |
b. Of the eyes: Suffused with tears; watery.
| a 1729 Congreve Tears of Amaryllis 126 From her swimming eyes began to pour Of softly falling rain a silver show'r. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 322 She rose, and fixt her swimming eyes upon him. |
c. advb.| 1887 Suppl. Jamieson's Sc. Dict., Addenda, Swimming..also used as an adv., as in the phrase swimming full, i.e. abundantly, copiously full or filled, well stocked. |
5. Affected with, or characterized by, dizziness or giddiness.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 555 For the..curing of the swimming dizzines or giddines in the head. 1688 King's Declar. 21/2 Yet you..are in no Danger at all of Falling Down, from any other Cause, but the Swimming Conceipt of your Own Head. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 59 A swimming kind of stupor would fall..upon my soul. 1818 Byron Mazeppa xviii, The cold, dull, swimming, dense Sensation of recurring sense. 1842 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 178 My head got into a swimming condition. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche April xxix, She yielded, and was borne with swimming brain And airy joy, along the mountain side. |
b. Of the eyes or sight (
cf. L.
oculi natantes,
lumina natantia).
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 717 An Iron Slumber shuts my swimming Eyes. 1697 ― æneid v. 1113 The Pilot..Soon clos'd his swimming Eyes, and lay supine. 1819 Keats Eve of St. Mark 55 With aching neck and swimming eyes, And dazed with saintly imag'ries. 1819 Byron Juan ii. cxii, And slowly by his swimming eyes was seen A lovely female face. 1827 Lytton Pelham lxxv, No trembling of the hand, no error of the swimming sight. |