▪ I. swim, n.
(swɪm)
Also 6 swym(me, 7 swimme, 8 Sc. soom.
[f. swim v.]
† 1. The clear part of a liquid which floats above the sediment: = sublation 1, sublimation 3.
| 1547 Recorde Judic. Ur. 16 b, The sedyment or grounde, the sublacion or swymme, and the cloude. 1625 Hart Anat. Ur. i. iii. 34 The urine in this disease was..variable and inconstant in the swimme and sublimation. 1676 J. Cooke Marrow Chirurg., Inst. iii. iii. 39 The Sediment possesses the bottom; the Swim the middle, the Cloud at top. |
2. A smooth gliding movement of the body. Also fig.
| 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. ii. iv, Mer. A happy commendation, to dance out of measure. Mor. Save only you wanted the swim i' the turne. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 505 An even unruffled swimme of Affaires, and Fortunes. 1681 Otway Soldier's Fort. ii. i, The modish swim of your body. 1703 Steele Tender Husb. iii. i, Your Arms do but hang on, and you move perfectly upon Joints. Not with a Swim of the whole Person—. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 27 That easy swim of movement..which..distinguishes the ladies of this country. |
† 3. The swimming-bladder or sound of a fish.
| a 1649 Winthrop New Eng. (1825) I. 272 Distinct bodies in the form of a globe, not much unlike the swims of some fish. 1684 R. Waller Nat. Exper. 67 The greater part of the Air in the bladder, by forcing, or taring the Swim, gets out through some invisible Passages. 1787 Best Angling (ed. 2) 1 An air bladder, or swim, to enable them to rise or sink to any height or depth of water, at pleasure. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 242/1 The..functions of the air-bladder, or, as they [sc. fishermen] most commonly call it, the swim. |
4. a. An act of swimming.
| 1764 J. Wesley Jrnl. 16 Jan. (1914) V. 44 My mare lost both her fore feet, but she gave a spring, and recovered the causeway; otherwise we must have taken a swim, for the water on either side was ten or twelve feet deep. 1805 Hayley Ballads i. xv, 'Twas Edward's pleasure, after toil, To take a fearless swim. 1828 Whewell in Life (1881) 126 A piece of water..where, I believe,..I should find water-fowl of various kinds, tame and wild, taking their morning swim. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xvii. (1891) 199 Parklands..had..a swim with Brandon and Mr. Neuchamp in the river. 1895 Meredith Amazing Marr. i, The tale of her swim across the Shannon river and back. |
b. A piece of water to be crossed by swimming. local.
| 1880 I. L. Bird Japan II. 130 The Aino guide took to the water without giving us any notice that its broad eddying flood was a swim, and not a ford. 1895 Queenslander 7 Dec. 1061 The Diamantina River is a swim at Elderslie. |
5. A swimming motion; colloq. or dial., a swimming or dizzy sensation. (Cf. swime.)
| 1817 Keats ‘I stood tip-toe’ 114 The moon lifting her silver rim Above a cloud, and with a gradual swim Coming into the blue with all her light. 1818 ― Endym. i. 571 Visions..The which became more strange, and strange, and dim, And then were gulph'd in a tumultuous swim. And then I fell asleep. 1829 E. Elliott Village Patriarch iii. iv, The laws allow His [sc. the coach-horse's] ever⁓batter'd hoof, and anguish'd limb, Till death-struck, flash his brain with dizzy swim. 1886 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Swim..sb. State of giddiness or faintness. My 'ead's all of a swim. |
6. a. A part of a river or other piece of water much frequented by fish, or in which an angler fishes.
| 1828 Sporting Mag. XXII. 25 It is an excellent part of the stream, and has many good swims and deep holes. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rur. Sports viii. ix. §3427 It is a method [of catching barbel] principally applied to the more quiet swims. 1864 Hibberd in Intell. Observer V. 17 Angling for grayling beside a poor swim on the banks of the Wye, the Dove, or the Ribble. 1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling i. (1880) 38 Roach and dace for the most part bite in the same swims. |
b. fig. phr. in the swim with: in the same company with, in league with.
| 1885 Graphic 3 Jan. 11/2 A combination of leading jockeys and others ‘in the swim’ with them. 1889 R. Bridges Growth of Love lxiii, And since I see Myself in swim with such good company. |
7. fig. The current of affairs or events, esp. the popular current in business, fashion, or opinion; chiefly in phr. in (out of) the swim.
| 1869 Macm. Mag. Nov. 70/2 A man is said to be ‘in the swim’ when any piece of good fortune has happened, or seems likely to happen, to him..The metaphor is piscatorial. 1874 Siliad ii. 30 ‘He's in the swim’, another swift replies; ‘Hot wather, thin, he loiks’, Obroian cries. 1879 McCarthy Own Times xxvi. II. 264 Palmerston is to all appearance what would be vulgarly called ‘out of the swim’. 1884 Graphic 29 Nov. 562/3 The second category of companies is usually so managed that the originators do pretty well out of it whether those of the shareholders who are not ‘in the swim’ gain a profit or lose their Capital. |
b. with qualifying words.
| 1884 H. P. Spofford in Harper's Mag. Nov. 891/1 She is in the swim of the world, turning night into day. 1888 Gunter Mr. Potter xiv. 167 Who knows nearly everybody in the swim of European society. 1891 L. B. Walford Mischief of Monica xxix, They have got into the Schofield swim, and in the Schofield swim they must remain. |
8. An enterprise, scheme, ‘game’. colloq. or slang.
| 1860 Sala Baddington Peerage I. vii. 138 Perhaps, though, I'd better work with Jack; I don't like being alone in a swim. 1869 ‘Wat Bradwood’ The O.V.H. (1870) 211, I suppose your master aint the sort to stand in for a swim is he? 1876 ‘Annie Thomas’ Blotted Out xvi. 147 You should have taken Claire into your confidence respecting this swim we're in about getting the money from your father. |
9. (See quot. 1867.)
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Swims, the flat extremities of east-country barges. 1883 Pall Mall G. 8 Dec. 4/1 When..the steersman has taken his place in the front swim, and the horse has been attached by a long rope, the vessel is ready to start. |
10. a. Simple attrib. ‘Worn while swimming’, as swim-cap, swim-pants, swim-shorts, swim-trunks, swim-wear. Cf. swimming vbl. n. 6.
| 1964 Harper's Bazaar Nov. 102 Black and white felt, close as a swimcap. |
| 1942 N. Last Diary 5 June in Nella Last's War (1983) 207 Arthur stripped off to a pair of swim-pants, to get sun-browned. 1977 J. D. MacDonald Condominium xxxiv. 328 He wore brief turquoise swim pants and large, very dark sunglasses. |
| 1973 G. Beare Snake on Grave iv. 22 All he wore was swim-shorts and leather sandals. |
| 1959 Spectator 21 Aug. 223/1 Several were wading about in the water. Two were braving it out in swim-trunks. 1979 G. Mitchell Mudflats of Dead iii. 35 He..put on his swim-trunks, and slung a towel around his shoulders. |
| 1935 A. P. Herbert What a Word! iv. 115, I have been implored by many to attack ‘neck-wear’, ‘foot-wear’, ‘sleep-wear’, and ‘swim-wear’. 1962 Punch 23 May p. xiii/1 Harvey Nichols have a new range of Californian swimwear. 1976 J. Archer Not Penny more, not Penny Less x. 104 I'll never get into the swimwear I'm..modelling next week. |
b. Special combinations. swim-feeder, in coarse fishing: a short length of perforated plastic tube about an inch in diameter, used to contain maggots, which escape gradually once it is sunk in the water; swimgloat, Logan Pearsall Smith's term for the enjoyment of brief social success without becoming corrupted by it; swim-hole = swimming hole s.v. swimming vbl. n. 6; swim-pool = swimming-pool s.v. swimming vbl. n. 6; swimsuit, a (woman's) bathing costume; hence swim-suited a.
| 1958 F. Oates Coarse Fishing Baits ix. 68 Another method of ground baiting is by the use of a new gadget called a ‘swim-feeder’. 1981 B. Walsh Live Bait v. 33, I used a paternoster rig, with a swimfeeder and a coffin leger to hold the bottom. |
| 1943 J. Lees-Milne Jrnl. 5 Sept. in Ancestral Voices (1975) 236 He [sc. Logan Pearsall Smith] calls Stuart's social success a ‘swimgloat’. 1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Oct. 1112/3 Logan Pearsall Smith coined a word for the buoyant negotiation of the vanities and temptations of society..: ‘swimgloat’. It is a term which suggests the eternal resilience of the picaresque hero. |
| 1924 Kipling Debits & Credits (1926) 321 There was a wet ditch at the bottom that I had wanted..to dam up to make a swim-hole for Mrs. Bevin's ducks. 1958 J. Kerouac On Road i. i. 10 My boyhood in those dye-dumps and swim-holes. 1964 C. Barber Ling. Change Present-Day Eng. ii. 21 Recently I have seen..swim-pool in a high-class newspaper. 1970 New Yorker 10 Oct. 80/1 (Advt.), Two swim pools. 1977 Lancashire Life Mar. 115/1 Britain has some of the finest swim pool engineers in the world. |
| 1934 Times 18 July 17/6 The one-piece swimsuits with attached skirt are still the most popular. 1948 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems (1958) 148 Don't hang swimsuits out on sills (A line has been provided at the back). 1980 B. Castle Castle Diaries 151 To the disapproval of the department I insisted on taking an hour off on my way to the office to try to buy a swimsuit for my holiday. |
| 1955 New Statesman 16 July 66/2 Brutally honest was the Visual Arts float: the Visual Arts..were..represented by a number of swim-suited young women. 1979 ‘J. Ross’ Rattling of Old Bones iii. 32 She was all fresh and rosy and swimsuited. |
Add: [4.] c. transf. One of the many variations of the twist popular in the 1960s, in which the dancer's arms and body move in a swimming motion. orig. U.S.
| 1965 Economist 28 Aug. 786/3 Everyone comes [to New York discothèques] to dance the frug, the watusi, the monkey, the swim, or whatever the latest caper may be. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. (Show Guide) 14/4 From their stylized embellishments emerged the Swim, Watusi, and Frug we enjoy today. 1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) ii. vi. 244 They danced the frug, the swim, and the watusi. |
▪ II. swim, v.
(swɪm)
Pa. tense swam (swæm); pa. pple. swum (swʌm). Forms: 1 swimman, (swymman), 2–7 swimme, 3–7 swymme, 4–5 sweme, 4–6 swime, 5–6 swym(e, 7–9 Sc. sweem, (3 swemme, 4 suemme, suim, suiymme, squim, 5 swymb, 6 swymm), 6– swim; Sc. 4–6 swome, 6 soume, sowme, swoume, 8 sume, 8–9 soum, sowm, s(w)oom. pa. tense strong 1 swamm, 3–4 suam, (4 squam), 4–6 swame, 5–7 swamme, 1– swam; pl. 1 swummon, 2 swummen, 3 svommen, 3–5 swomme, 4 swumme; 1, 4–7 (9 dial.) swom, 4–7 swomme, 6–7 swumme, swome, (6 swoome, swume, swomm), 6–9 swum; weak 3 swymde, 5 swymyd, 6 swymmed, Sc. swoumit, 6–8 (9 dial.) swimmed, 7 swimed, 9 Sc. soomed. pa. pple. strong 1 (ᵹe)swummen, 4, 7 swommen, 6–7 swom(m)e, (7 swoome, swumme, swom, swimme), 6– swum; 7– (now incorrect) swam; weak 6 swymmed, Sc. swymmit, 6–7 (9 dial.) swimmed, 9 Sc. soomed, sweemed.
[Com. Teut. str. vb. (not recorded for Gothic): OE. swimman, pa. tense swamm, also swam, swom, pl. swummon, pa. pple. swummen, = OFris. swimma (WFris. swimme, swom or swimde, swommen), MLG. swemmen, MDu. swemmen, swimmen, swam, swommen (Du. zwemmen, zwom, gezwommen), OHG. swimman, swam, swummun, (MHG. swimmen, G. schwimmen, schwamm, geschwommen), ON. svimma, svamm, summu, sommet, (MSw. symma, *svamm, summo, summith, Sw. simma, sam, summit, ODa. svemme, sv{obar}mme, svam, svemde, svemmet, s{obar}mmet, Norw., Da. sv{obar}mme).
The Scand. langs. show the following secondary forms, in mod. dial, often with wk. conjugation: ON. svima and symja, svam, svámu, svimit, MSw. sima, sam, samo, sumit, Norw. svemja, sv{obar}mja, and symja, svam, svom, and svamde, sumde, svomet, s(v)oomt, swamt.
Related forms in Germanic containing other vowel-grades are: NFris. swum, swomme, EFris. swom (:—*swomma), MLG. swommen, swummen wk. to swim, OHG. geswumft, swummôth swimming, Goth. swumfsl pool, OE. sund sound n.1; MHG. swamen to swim, ON. svamla to swim with much noise (cf. Norw. dial. sumla). A causative form *swam(m)jan is represented by OE. beswemman, MHG. swemmen (G. schwemmen).
The Indo-eur. root swem- with the wider meaning of ‘to be in motion’ is found in W. chwyf motion, OIr. do-sennaim I hunt, Lith. sùndyti to chase.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. a. To move along in or on water by movements of the limbs or other natural means of progression.
| Beowulf 1624 (Gr.) Com þa to lande lidmanna helm swiðmod swymman. a 1000 Riddles lxxiii. 4 (Gr.) Ic..fleah mid fuᵹlum & on flode swom. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 516 Ða ᵹeseah he swymman scealfran on flode. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 454/30 Nat, swam, swimð. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 51 Heo bi-gon to swimmen forðward mid þe streme and swam hire þer aȝen. Ibid. 129 Alle þe fiscas þe swummen in þere se. c 1205 Lay. 1342 Þa mereminnen heom to svommen. c 1275 Ibid. 28078 Com þar a fisc swemme. c 1290 St. Patrick's Purgat. 350 in S. Eng. Leg. 210 In þat water,..Þis gostes swymden op and doun. a 1330 Otuel 1617 Summe swumme & summe sunke. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xvii. (Martha) 108 He enterit in riuere faste, & swemand ay, til and mycht leste. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 431 Sum off thaim couth swome full weill. 1382 Wyclif Acts xxvii. 42 Lest ony schulde scape, whanne he hadde swymmed [1526 Tindale, 1535 Coverdale, 1560 Geneva swome] out. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 389 Thanne shal I swymme [v.r. sweme] as myrie,..As dooth the white doke after hire drake. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 515 Quhen he is strest, than can he swym [v.r. swoome] at will. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xlvii. 5 The water was so depe, that it was nedefull to haue swymmed. a 1593 Marlowe Hero & Leander ii. 250 Vouchsafe these armes some little roome, Who hoping to imbrace thee, cherely swome. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 273 They swum through the waters amaine. 1606 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. iii. Schism 431 The Crystall Wave, Over the which so often swom they have. 1635 R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. i. 66 Being shipwrack't..he had swumme till his strength and his armes failed him. 1638 Mayne Lucian (1664) 174 In the sight of all he swumme over to the enemies. 1653 Walton Angler vi. 135 Some..young Salmons, which have been taken in Weires, as they swimm'd towards the salt water. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. ii. Wks. 1851 V. 57 His Foot so pass'd over, his Horse waded or swom. a 1676 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. vii. (1677) 202 Though it hath been observed that Bears have swimmed into Islands many Leagues from the Continent. 1676 Shadwell Virtuoso 11, Admirably well struck! rarely swom! 1701 J. Brand New Descr. Orkney, etc. (1703) 110 Betaking themselves to Sea, they endeavour to sweem to the next Isle. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 24 ¶9 Who, being shipwrecked, had swam naked to land. 1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad Introd. 112 His poems, which he held in one hand, while he swimmed with the other [etc.]. 1827 Carlyle Germ. Rom. I. 161 The messengers..had swam across the Elbe and the Moldau. 1853 Kingsley Hypatia iii, Luckily Philammon..was a bather, and swam like a water-fowl. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xiv. (1891) 156 Maories and Kanakas can swim, repeated the old man... White men like you and me can only paddle. |
b. fig. or in fig. context or phrase.
to swim between two waters (occas. erron. streams), tr. F. prov. nager entre deux eaux: to steer between two extremes.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 7007 Al amydde I bilde and mak My hous and swimme [MS. swmme] and pley therynne Bet than a fish doth with his fynne. c 1400 Pety Job 83 in 26 Pol. Poems 123 For Mary loue, that mayde so fre, In whos blode thy son swamme. c 1480 Henryson Mor. Fab., Paddock & Mouse xxiii, Mannis bodie, swymand air and lait In to this warld,..quhilis plungit vp, quhilis doun. 1561 tr. Calvin's 4 Serm. Idol. i. A vj b, Thei that swim (as the common saying) betwixt two waters allege [etc.]. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 53 He swoumit in the fluidis of Poetrie. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 782 Vnlesse he swim in loue vp to the eares. 1598 Chapman Marlowe's Hero & Leander iii. 100 When on his breasts warme sea she sideling swims. 1642 H. More Song of Soul, Oracle Wks. (Grosart) 134 Well hast thou swommen out, and left that stage Of wicked Actours. 1649 Howell Pre-em. Parl. 17 My whole life (since I was left to my self to swim, as they say without bladders). 1738 Wesley Hymn, ‘Of Him who did Salvation bring’, He suffer'd; All our Guilt's forgiven; And on his Blood we swim to Heaven. 1888 Times (weekly ed.) 3 Feb. 9/2 These documents went swimming to and fro in the Admiralty. 1889 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Wom. xxviii. (ed. 4) 229 A woman who for a long time swam for her life, having had an attack of pyæmia in the course of her recovery from a perimetric abscess. 1890 Barrère & Leland Slang Dict. s.v., To make a man swim for it, is to cheat him out of his share. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xi. 120, I could lay all these troubles by..; swim clear of the Appin murder, [etc.]. |
c. phr. to swim with or down the stream or the tide, to act in conformity with prevailing opinion or tendency (see stream n. 2 f); so, in opposite sense, to swim against the stream or the tide.
| a 1592 T. Watson Tears of Fancy xliii, Long haue I swome against the wished waue. 1592 [see stream n. 2 f]. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 34 You must now speake Sir Iohn Falstaffe faire, Which swimmes against your streame of Quality. 1602 W. Fulbecke 2nd Pt. Parall. Introd. 3 Because I would not swim against the streame, nor be vnlike vnto my neighbours. 1631 R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. 227 A notorious wretch which hath swumme downe the current of the times, and wallowed in worldly pleasures. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. ii. (1703) 74 A popular man always swims down the stream. 1705 Ld. Fermanagh Let. 18 Nov. in M. M. Verney Verney Lett. (1930) I. xiii. 229, I fancy Mr. Gape may lose it... Its hard Swimming against the Tyde. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 492 ¶4 There is no help for it, we must swim with the Tide. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 21 Our young Englishman swam willingly down the stream of pleasure. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. iii. vi. (1866) 452/1 The President stoutly told him that he was endeavouring to swim against the stream, that the tax was offensive to the people. Ibid. v. iv. 727/1 They..had sought to swim on the popular tide when it was rising. 1971 Nature 22 Oct. 515/3 The Sira Institute seems to be swimming against the economic tide. |
2. a. To float on the surface of any liquid; to be supported on water or other fluid; not to sink; to form the upper part of a mass of liquid. Sometimes, To rise and float on the surface.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 88 Wiþ circul adle ᵹenim doccan þa þe swimman wille. 1382 Wyclif 2 Kings vi. 6 Felle the yren of the axe in to the watir..Thanne he hewede of a tree, and putte thider; and the yren swam. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. 44 b, Take vp with a..spone,..all the oyle that shall swim aboue. 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 23 Thay gar sweit licour swym aboue, and gall is at the ground. 1607 God's Warning in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 66 Sheepe swimming upon the waters dead. 1650 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §71 If one plunge or drown anie thing under it [sc. water], it will swim out again. 1665 Hooke Microgr. vi. 12 Several distinct Liquors, which swimming one upon another, will not presently mix. 1775 Johnson Diary 23 Oct. in Boswell, The cannon ball swam in the quicksilver. 1798 in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1845) III. 51 A boat, the only one that could swim. 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 407 On standing, the mixture separated into two portions; the alcohol holding the salt in solution sunk to the bottom; the ether swam on the surface. 1884 Chr. Commonw. 23 Oct. 20/3 Men are skimming the milk before much of the cream has had time to swim. |
b. To be supported in a fluid medium.
| 1547 Recorde Judic. Ur. 17 If it [sc. the sediment in urine] be so lyght, that it swym in the myddle region of the urine, then it is called the sublation or swym. a 1661 Boyle Cert. Physiol. Ess. iv. (1660) 131 Amongst whose little Crystals nevertheless there appear'd to swim very little grains. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam v. iv, Methought, his voice did swim As if it drowned in remembrance were Of thoughts. 1895 Crockett Men of Moss-Hags xli. 296 When my minnie gaed to him with the guid kail broo and the braxy sooming amang it. |
c. fig. and in fig. context.
| 1547–64 Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 144 A very fruitlesse and dead faith,..which swimmeth like a fume in the outward parts of mens thoughts. 1563 Becon Demands Script. Pref. (1577) A iij, This holy woord of God among you, swimmeth not in your lippes only, but it also shineth in your lyfe and conuersation. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1353/1 Why we let them [sc. God's laws] swim in our lips, and slip from our liues, as the vaine Iewes did. 1788 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. vi. 219 The principles on which the work is wrought..do not swim on the superficies, and consequently are not open to superficial observers. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cviii, On the depths of death there swims The reflex of a human face. |
d. Phr. in which swim is opposed to sink; esp. sink or swim (occas. swim or drown), used spec. in reference to the ordeal of suspected witches (cf. 14 b), hence fig. = ‘whatever may happen’.
| c 1410 Lanterne of Liȝt 106 Þei charge not wheþir þei [sc. souls] synk or swyme, so þei moun regne as lordis. 1538 Starkey England (1878) 85 For the rest they care not (as hyt ys commynly sayd) whether they synke or swyme. a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 22, I care not to let all alone, choose it swimme or sinke. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Nager, A fauourite of the time, or of authoritie, may boldly swimme where another would sinke. 1786 Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer v, Let posts an' pensions sink or swoom. 1825 [see sink v. 1 Phr.]. 1860 G. J. Whyte-Melville Holmby House xviii. I. 274 Well, it's ‘over shoes over boots now’, and sink or swim, I won't give in for the fear of a ducking! 1887 Stevenson Thrawn Janet in Merry Men, etc. (1905) 132 The guidwives..pu'd her doun the clachan to the water o' Dule, to see if she were a witch or no, soum or drown. |
3. a. To move or float along on the surface of the water, as a ship. Now poet.
| c 1000 Wanderer 53 (Gr.) Secga ᵹeseldan swimmað eft onweᵹ. a 1300 K. Horn 203 (Camb. MS.) Wiþute sail & roþer Vre schip bigan to swymme [v.r. swemme] To þis londes brymme. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. iii. 95 O ȝe my schippys,..Go furth and swome as Goddessis of the see. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 84 The carkasse of a broken ship swimming by vs. 1624 Bacon Consid. Warre w. Spaine Misc. (1629) 41 The greatest Nauy that euer swam vpon the Sea. 1664 Pepys Diary 22 Dec., To Redriffe..and saw the new vessel..launched... It swims and looks finely. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 81 The Ship was free, and swimmed. 1765 R. Rogers Acc. N. Amer. 18 Having good anchoring ground, and water sufficient for any ship that swims. 1817 Shelley To one Singing 1 My spirit like a charmed bark doth swim Upon the liquid waves of thy sweet singing. |
b. To be conveyed by a body floating on the water. Also fig. as in phr. ‘to be in the same boat with’ (boat n. 1 d).
| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 364 A knedyng trogh or ellis a kymelyn,..In whiche we mowe swymme [v.r. sweme] as in a barge. 1571 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxi. 100 Yai wald haif wist hir swoumand Intil a bait vpon Lochlowmond. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iv. i. 38, I will scarce thinke you haue swam in a Gundello. 1650 Fuller Pisgah 410 The gold of Ophir swimming unto him in the ships of Tarshish. 1869 ‘Wat Bradwood’ The O.V.H. (1870) 215 Half the world will think we have scratched to swim in the same boat with Fisherman. |
4. To move as water or other liquid, esp. over a surface; to flow.
| c 1400 Song Roland 70 It [sc. the wine] swymyd in ther hedis and mad hem to nap. c 1572 Gascoigne Posies, Fruites Warre ccii, As long as any Sunne May shine on earth, or water swimme in Seas. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 90 Thee goare blood spouteth..And swyms in the thrashold. 1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner (1907) 82 Husbandmen's watering is, by running plough-furrowes and trenches where needful,..so as the water may gently sweem over the whole. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Pears, Comfit your Fruit as readily as you can, to the end, that the liquid Part may continually swim over the Fruit. 1831 Society I. 2 The..occasional tears which swam in the light blue eyes of her Hebe-looking companion. |
5. a. To glide with a smooth or waving motion.
| a 1553 Udall Royster D. ii. iii. (Arb.) 36 Ye shall see hir glide and swimme, Not lumperdee clumperdee like our spaniell Rig. c 1563 Jack Juggler B j, She minceth, she brideleth, she swimmeth to and fro. a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 175 Noblemen, when they..look upon their train swimming after them. 1623 Drummond of Hawthornden Flowres of Sion viii, Thus singing through the Aire the Angels swame. 1728–46 Thomson Spring 784 The peacock spreads His every-coloured glory to the sun, And swims in radiant majesty along. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1792) II. 71 Turning away, she swam and disappeared in an instant. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. Epil. 28 [She] Doats upon dancing, and in all her pride, Swims round the room, the Heinel of Cheapside. 1830 Macaulay in Trevelyan Life & Lett. (1876) I. iv. 164 Showy women swimming smoothly over the uneasy stones. 1888 Stevenson Black Arrow 209 She..swam across the floor as though she scorned the drudgery of walking. |
b. Of a plough (in full, to swim fair): To go steadily (see quots.).
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XV. 75/1 When the plough goes on steadily, without any effort of the ploughman, it is said to be in trim, and to swim fair. 1842 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. ii. 357 The action of the plough was in no way deranged by that of the slicers; it ‘swam fair’ on the furrow bottom. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 435 This plough, with its sole upon the surface of two years' old lea, and the coulter alone in the soil, the bridle having been adjusted to make it swim without any undue tendency. |
6. a. To move, or appear to move, as if gliding or floating on water; esp. to move, glide, or be suspended in the air or ether, occas. by mechanical means.
| 1661 Boyle Certain Physiol. Ess. (1669) 191 Those little moats that from a shady place we see swimming up and down in the Sun-beams. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 3 The Compass swings in the Boxes,..the Chard swimming well on the Pin perpendicular in the middle of the Box. 1676 Wood Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 149 The Sun..having no Depression towards the Horizon, but always swimming about at the same hight. 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 22. 2/1, I observ'd a Kite in the Air to swim several times round in a Circle. 1732 Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments, etc. 414 This Disease may be easily communicated by the Contagion or steams of an infected Person swimming in the Air. 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 333 The Muse, eagle-pinioned,..Down, down the wind, she swims, and sails away. 1833 Tennyson Two Voices 262 High up the vapours fold and swim; About him broods the twilight dim. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xxi. 303 The moon had swum further up into the heavens. 1895 R. W. Chambers King in Yellow, Street of Our Lady of Fields iv. (1909) 253 The dome of the Pantheon swam aglow above the northern terrace, a fiery Valhalla in the sky. |
b. Said of the apparent motion of objects before the eyes of a person whose sight is troubled or blurred.
| 1678 Dryden All for Love iii. ad fin., My sight grows dim, and every object dances, And swims before me, in the maze of death. 1697 ― æneid x. 1050 A hov'ring Mist came swimming o're his sight. 1709 E. Smith Phædra & Hippolytus i. 7 Priests, Altars, Victims swam before my Sight! 1818 Shelley Rosalind 194 Then all the scene was wont to swim Through the mist of a burning tear. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. cxl, The arena swims around him—he is gone. 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (1867) 62 The room swam round before me. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xviii, There was a sound like rushing waters in my ears, and the courthouse and the people all swam before my eyes. |
† c. To ‘float’ in the mind. Obs.
| 1627 Lisander & Cal. x. 215 The admirable attractions of her surmounting beauty swome in her minde. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 87 Seeking to feed his eyes with the sight of this faire image, which swimmed in his fantasie. |
7. a. Of the head or brain: To be affected with dizziness; to have a giddy sensation. Also, of the head, to swim round = to be in a whirl.
| 1702 Steele Funeral i. (1734) 19 My Head swims, as it did when I fell into my Fit, at the Thought of it. 1782 Cowper Jackdaw 10 Look up—your brains begin to swim. 1829 Lytton Devereux i. iii, My head swam round. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles xi. 108 His brain swam with the thought, and he almost fell to the earth. 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold xx, My head's bizzing, and sooming, and burning. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xvii, My own sides so ached, my head so swam,..that I lay beside him like one dead. |
b. Of the eyes: To be troubled or blurred: with mixture of sense 10.
| 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam vi. xxxvi, When the faint eyes swim Through tears of a wide mist boundless and dim. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Rip Van Winkle (1821) I. 63 At length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head. 1847 Tennyson Princ. vi. 193 Who turn'd half⁓round to Psyche as she sprang To meet it, with an eye that swum in thanks. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxii. 155 On suddenly raising it [sc. my head] my eyes swam as they rested on the unbroken slope of snow. |
† 8. transf. To abound with swimming animals.
| c 1381 Chaucer Parl. Foules 188 (Harl. MS.) Colde welle stremes,..Þat swommyn ful of smale fysshes lyht. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 337 The stankis..was sowmond full of all deliecat fisches. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 23 A pleasand Loch swomeng full of fyne perchis. |
9. a. To float, be immersed or steeped, in a fluid; also in fig. context (cf. b).
| c 1450 Mirk's Festial 14 Þay vndedyn hit [sc. a tomb], and fonden his bones swymmyng yn oyle. a 1586 Sidney Ps. xvii. viii, Their eies doe swimme, their face doth shine in fatt. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone i. i, When you do come to swim in golden lard, Up to the arms in honey. 1655 Culpepper, etc. Riverius ii. vi. 337 The Water corrupted in the Abdomen, doth also corrupt the Bowels that swim therein. 1663 Unfort. Usurper i. ii. 5, I expected to see him almost drown'd with sorrow, But find him swiming, and almost drown'd in's Liquor. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 188 Rice thrives best in Watery Places, it swimming always therein till Harvest. 1719 Ozell tr. Misson's Mem. Trav. Eng. 314 Five or six Heaps of Cabbage..or some other Herbs.., well pepper'd and salted, and swimming in Butter. 1719 Ramsay To Hamilton (Herrings) i, Your herrings..In healsome brine a' soumin. 1775 R. Chandler Trav. Asia M. viii. (1825) I. 29 A cotton-wick swimming in oil. |
b. fig. To be immersed or sunk in pleasure, grief, etc.; † to abound in.
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1254 They þat swymmen in richesse Continuelly, and han prosperitee. 1526 Tindale 2 Thess. i. 3 Every one of you swymmeth in love towarde another betwene youre selves. 1575 Gascoigne Flowers Wks. 1907 I. 94, I seeme to swime in such a sugred joye, As did (parcase) entise them to delight. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iii. 39 There thou maist loue, and dearely loued bee, And swim in pleasure. 1637 Gillespie Engl. Pop. Cerem. iv. vi. 30 They slept upon beds of yvorie, and swimmed in excessive pleasures upon their couches. a 1644 Quarles Sol. Recant. Sol. iii. 38 At noon we swim in wine; at night, in tears. 1652 Crashaw Carmen Deo Nostro, Sancta Maria iv, She sees her son..swimme In woes that were not made for Him. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 1009 As with new Wine intoxicated both [sc. Adam and Eve] They swim in mirth. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 27 My soul swims in delight. |
10. a. To be covered or filled with fluid; to be drenched, overflowed, or flooded. Const. with, in.
| a 1542 Wyatt Of Mean & Sure Estate 7 When the furrowes swimmed with the rayne. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ps. vi. 6, I cause my bed every night to swimme. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 251 While they seke howe to make slaughter in Germanye, and that all thynge maye swymme full of theyr blud, that professe Chryst. 1595 Locrine ii. v. 66 The currents swift swimme violently with blood. a 1658 Cleveland Inund. Trent 86 Some say the Meadows swim, some say they'r drown'd. 1697 Dryden æneid iii. 822 With spouting Blood the Purple Pavement swims. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 104 ¶1 To see her Eyes swimming in Tears of Affection. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 83 ¶1 When the Heavens are filled with Clouds, when the Earth swims in Rain. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. iii. 54 Every thing they eat smells strong and swims with Butter. 1827 Lytton Pelham liv, Ellen, whose eyes swam in tears, as they gazed upon her brother. 1884 Gilmour Mongols 169 Great parts of the causeway swim with deep black mud. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn lxvi, The marble floors of the Temple of Jerusalem swam in blood. |
b. fig. To be full to overflowing with.
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke v. 67 Whereas them⁓selfes swimmed as full as theyr skinnes might holde of many great vices. a 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfe-Deceiuing (1630) 56 The wickeds Table, though swimming neuer so much with dainties. 1676 Bunyan Strait Gate Wks. (1692) 636/2 Beware..of the Man whose Head swims with Notions, but his Life is among the unclean. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 297 The eyes swimming with youth and tenderness. 1845 G. Oliver Coll. Biog. Soc. Jesus 76 He tells Dorothy in a letter, that his heart is now swimming with joy. 1895 Meredith Amazing Marr. iv, The upper sky swam with violet. 1902 R. W. Chambers Maids of Paradise vi. 93 The room in the turret was now [sc. after the battle] swimming in smoke and lime dust. |
II. Transitive senses.
11. a. To traverse or cover (a certain distance) by swimming. Also, to perform (a stroke or evolution) by swimming.
| c 1000 Epist. Alex. ad Arist. in Cockayne Narrat. Angl. (1861) 10 Þa hie ða hæfdon feorðan dæl þære ea ᵹeswummen. c 1290 St. Brendan 169 in S. Eng. Leg. 224 He suam more þan tuei myle. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. xxiv. (1912) 306, I had swomme a very little way. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 174 Be thou heere againe, Ere the Leuiathan can swim a league. 1610 ― Temp. iii. ii. 16, I swam, ere I could recouer the shore, fiue and thirtie Leagues. 1848 Blackw. Mag. Dec. 723/1 Gazing at the gold-fish that swam their monotonous circle in the basin. 1893 F. M. Crawford Children of King I. iv. 114 He could not swim a stroke. |
b. To glide smoothly through. rare.
| 1725 Pope Odyss. vi. 188 Stately in the dance you swim th' harmonious maze. |
12. a. To pass or cross by swimming; to move in, on, or over by swimming; to swim across.
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 26 You are ouer-bootes in loue, And yet you neuer swom the Hellespont. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 202 That Sea-beast Leviathan, which God of all his works Created hugest that swim th' Ocean stream. 1697 Dryden æneid iv. 764 Parti-colour'd Fowl, Which haunt the Woods, or swim the weedy Pool. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1769) I. 203 All that wing the Firmament, or tread the Soil, or swim the Wave. 1813 Scott Rokeby vi. ii, The otter.., prowling by the moon-beam cool, Watches the stream or swims the pool. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. India I. 617 They swam the river to the spot where the king's tent was pitched. |
b. To float on the surface of (water). rare.
| 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 137 Nor less, too, swims the seething surge The buoyant alder, wafted on the Po. |
13. a. To cause (an animal) to swim, esp. across a river, etc.
| 1639 T. de Grey Compl. Horsem. 306 After swim him, and apply bathes. 1714 tr. Joutel's Jrnl. Voy. Mexico (1719) 133 Handing over our Goods from one to another, and swimming over our Horses. 1722 Acts Assembly Pennsylv. (1762) I. 96 For every Cow or other neat Cattle, boated or swam, Three Half-pence. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxxiii, Sometimes swimming their horses, sometimes losing them and struggling for their own lives. 1890 Stevenson Let. to H. James (1899) II. 213 The place is awkward to reach on horseback. I had to swim my horse the last time I went to dinner. 1903 Morley Gladstone I. ii. 47 How he..swam the Newfoundland dog in the pond. |
b. To convey by swimming. rare.
| 1613 Heywood Brazen Age i. B 4 b, I'le vndertake to swimme her Vnto the furthest strond, vpon my shoulders. 1939 A. Ransome Secret Water xxvi. 315 You'll just have to lie on your back and keep still, and I'm going to swim you ashore. 1953 Sun Mag. (Baltimore) 25 Oct. 29/1 The gun fires and the bay dog is over with a splash. Exultantly he swims the dead game back to his master. |
c. To cause (something) to pass over the surface of water; to float.
| 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 160 The People swam off three Casks of Water. 1800 Moore Anacreon lii. 5 Teach me this, and let me swim My soul upon the goblet's brim. 1836 T. Hook G. Gurney I. 38 Two of the boys proceeded to a pond, for the purpose of swimming a gallipot. |
d. Of a rushing force of water: To carry or sweep away in its course.
| 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ix. x. (1872) III. 171 Two villages, Fuhrenheim and Sandhausen, it swam away, every stick of them. 1865 Ibid. xx. vii. IX. 129 Reach the bridge before it be swum away. |
14. a. To cause to float; to buoy up.
| 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 81, 5 Tun of Cask will swim a Canon of 8 or 9000 weight. 1779 Phil. Trans. LXX. 107 This deck..was laid at five feet five inches above the bottom of the keel,..and swam the ship at twelve feet five inches water. 1800 S. Standige in Naval Chron. III. 474 Cann Buoys to swim the buoy-rope,..are the most buoyant. 1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 478 We had not before ascertained how far the contrivance of swimming the ship by the ceiling could be depended on. 1842 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. ii. 303 Steep the seed in brine that will swim an egg. 1854 Bowlker's Art of Angling 58 Put on a cork float sufficiently large to swim a Gudgeon, or large Minnow, at mid-water. |
b. To put (a person suspected of witchcraft) to the ordeal of being immersed in water, the proof of innocence being that the person did not sink.
| 1718 F. Hutchinson Hist. Ess. Witchcraft 65 Hopkins [the Witch-finder] went on searching and swimming the poor Creatures. 1748 in Gentl. Mag. Mar. (1867) 320 Alice, the wife of Thomas Green, labourer, was swam, malicious..people having raised an ill report of her for being a witch. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xl, The folk are speaking o' swimming her i' the Eden. 1825 Ann. Reg., Chron. 98/1 A man was swam for a wizard at Wickham-Keith..in the presence of some hundreds of people! |
c. To furnish sufficient depth of water for (something) to swim or float in.
| 1794 M. Parry Jrnl. 23 May in Kentucky Hist. Soc. Register (1936) XXXIV. 380 Forded Buffaloe Creek, at the mouth, which did not quite swim them [sc. the horses]. 1815 Scott Guy M. ix, We'll drink the young Laird's health in a bowl that would swim the collector's yawl. 1817 M. Birkbeck Notes Journ. Amer. (1818) 82, I guess it [sc. the creek] will swim your horse. 1887 I. R. Lady's Ranche Life Montana 25 Wide rivers, very rapid and almost deep enough to swim a horse. |
d. (See quot.)
| 1864 Webster, Swim, v.t...2. To immerse in water that the lighter parts may swim; as, to swim wheat for seed. |
† 15. To carry (a publication) to success. Obs.
| 1870 ‘Mark Twain’ Lett. to Publishers (1967) 45 Launch a book right on our big tidal wave and swim it into a success. 1890 G. Meredith Let. 19 Nov. (1970) II. 1012 If clogged with the letter-press, I should have my doubts of success, even with his name to swim the book. |