Also called swift moth, ghost moth.any of several brown or gray moths, the males of which are usually white, of the family Hepialidae, noted for rapid flight.
10.
an adjustable device upon which a hank of yarn is placed in order to wind off skeins or balls.
11.
the main cylinder on a machine for carding flax.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME (adj. and adv.), OE (adj.); akin to OE swīfan to revolve, ON svīfa to rove; see swivel]
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication: an international consortium that routes instructions concerning transfer of funds between financial institutions.
Moving or capable of moving with great speed; fast. See Synonyms at fast1.
Coming, occurring, or accomplished quickly; instant: a swift retort.
Quick to act or react; prompt: swift to take steps.
adv.
Swiftly. Often used in combination: swift-running.
n.
A cylinder on a carding machine.
A reel used to hold yarn as it is being wound off.
Any of various small dark insect-eating birds of the family Apodidae, related to the hummingbirds and noted for their long strong wings and swift flight.
Any of various small, fast-moving North American lizards of the genera Sceloporus and Uta.
SwiftAudio Help (swĭft) Pronunciation Key
Irish-born English writer known for his satirical works, including Gulliver's Travels (1726) and A Modest Proposal (1729).
O.E. swift "moving quickly," related to swifan "move in a course, sweep" (see swivel). The bird (several species of the family Cypselidæ, resembling swallows), noted for its "swift" flight, was so called from at least 1668. Regarded as a bird of ill-omen, if not downright demonic, probably for its shrill cry. The name earlier had been given to several small fast lizards (1530).
Swift County, MN (county, FIPS 151) Location: 45.28652 N, 95.68192 W Population (1990): 10724 (4795 housing units) Area: 1925.8 sq km (land), 22.8 sq km (water)
Swift Trail Junction, AZ (CDP, FIPS 71650) Location: 32.73246 N, 109.71493 W Population (1990): 1203 (365 housing units) Area: 11.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Swift, MN Zip code(s): 56682
Camp Swift, TX (CDP, FIPS 12334) Location: 30.19065 N, 97.29205 W Population (1990): 2681 (821 housing units) Area: 30.0 sq km (land), 0.4 sq km (water)
Black\, a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl["a]ck ink, Dan. bl[ae]k, OHG. blach, LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not akin to AS. bl[=a]c, E. bleak pallid. ?98.]1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark color, the opposite of white; characterized by such a color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes. O night, with hue so black! --Shak. 2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the heavens black with clouds. I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud. --Shak. 3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness; destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked; cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. "This day's black fate." "Black villainy." "Arise, black vengeance." "Black day." "Black despair." --Shak. 4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen; foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks. Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words; as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired, black-visaged. Black act, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been called black acts. Black angel (Zo["o]l.), a fish of the West Indies and Florida (Holacanthus tricolor), with the head and tail yellow, and the middle of the body black. Black antimony (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony, Sb2S3, used in pyrotechnics, etc. Black bear (Zo["o]l.), the common American bear (Ursus Americanus). Black beast. See B[^e]te noire. Black beetle (Zo["o]l.), the common large cockroach (Blatta orientalis). Black and blue, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh, which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. "To pinch the slatterns black and blue." --Hudibras. Black bonnet (Zo["o]l.), the black-headed bunting (Embriza Sch[oe]niclus) of Europe. Black canker, a disease in turnips and other crops, produced by a species of caterpillar. Black cat (Zo["o]l.), the fisher, a quadruped of North America allied to the sable, but larger. See Fisher. Black cattle, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.] Black cherry. See under Cherry. Black cockatoo (Zo["o]l.), the palm cockatoo. See Cockatoo. Black copper. Same as Melaconite. Black currant. (Bot.) See Currant. Black diamond. (Min.) See Carbonado. Black draught (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of senna and magnesia. Black drop (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar. Black earth, mold; earth of a dark color. --Woodward. Black flag, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance. Black flea (Zo["o]l.), a flea beetle (Haltica nemorum) injurious to turnips. Black flux, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal, obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of niter. --Brande & C. Black fly. (Zo["o]l.) (a) In the United States, a small, venomous, two-winged fly of the genus Simulium of several species, exceedingly abundant and troublesome in the northern forests. The larv[ae] are aquatic. (b) A black plant louse, as the bean aphis (A. fab[ae]). Black Forest [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in Baden and W["u]rtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient Hercynian forest. Black game, or Black grouse. (Zo["o]l.) See Blackcock, Grouse, and Heath grouse. Black grass (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species Juncus Gerardi, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay. Black gum (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or pepperidge. See Tupelo. Black Hamburg (grape) (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of dark purple or "black" grape. Black horse (Zo["o]l.), a fish of the Mississippi valley (Cycleptus elongatus), of the sucker family; the Missouri sucker. Black lemur (Zo["o]l.), the Lemurniger of Madagascar; the acoumbo of the natives. Black list, a list of persons who are for some reason thought deserving of censure or punishment; -- esp. a list of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See Blacklist, v. t. Black manganese (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese, MnO2. Black Maria, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried to or from jail. Black martin (Zo["o]l.), the chimney swift. See Swift. Black moss (Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the southern United States. See Tillandsia. Black oak. See under Oak. Black ocher. See Wad. Black pigment, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance, or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar. Black plate, sheet iron before it is tinned. --Knight. Black quarter, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox. Black rat (Zo["o]l.), one of the species of rats (Mus rattus), commonly infesting houses. Black rent. See Blackmail, n., 3. Black rust, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain. Black sheep, one in a family or company who is unlike the rest, and makes trouble. Black silver. (Min.) See under Silver. Black and tan, black mixed or spotted with tan color or reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of dogs. Black tea. See under Tea. Black tin (Mining), tin ore (cassiterite), when dressed, stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form of a black powder, like fine sand. --Knight. Black walnut. See under Walnut. Black warrior (Zo["o]l.), an American hawk (Buteo Harlani). Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart; Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
Pine\, n. [AS. p[=i]n, L. pinus.]1. (Bot.) Any tree of the coniferous genus Pinus. See Pinus. Note: There are about twenty-eight species in the United States, of which the white pine (P. Strobus), the Georgia pine (P. australis), the red pine (P. resinosa), and the great West Coast sugar pine (P. Lambertiana) are among the most valuable. The Scotch pine or fir, also called Norway or Riga pine (Pinus sylvestris), is the only British species. The nut pine is any pine tree, or species of pine, which bears large edible seeds. See Pinon. The spruces, firs, larches, and true cedars, though formerly considered pines, are now commonly assigned to other genera. 2. The wood of the pine tree. 3. A pineapple. Ground pine. (Bot.) See under Ground. Norfolk Island pine (Bot.), a beautiful coniferous tree, the Araucaria excelsa. Pine barren, a tract of infertile land which is covered with pines. [Southern U.S.] Pine borer (Zo["o]l.), any beetle whose larv[ae] bore into pine trees. Pine finch. (Zo["o]l.) See Pinefinch, in the Vocabulary. Pine grosbeak (Zo["o]l.), a large grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), which inhabits the northern parts of both hemispheres. The adult male is more or less tinged with red. Pine lizard (Zo["o]l.), a small, very active, mottled gray lizard (Sceloporus undulatus), native of the Middle States; -- called also swift, brown scorpion, and alligator. Pine marten. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A European weasel (Mustela martes), called also sweet marten, and yellow-breasted marten. (b) The American sable. See Sable. Pine moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small tortricid moths of the genus Retinia, whose larv[ae] burrow in the ends of the branchlets of pine trees, often doing great damage. Pine mouse (Zo["o]l.), an American wild mouse (Arvicola pinetorum), native of the Middle States. It lives in pine forests. Pine needle (Bot.), one of the slender needle-shaped leaves of a pine tree. See Pinus. Pine-needle wool. See Pine wool (below). Pine oil, an oil resembling turpentine, obtained from fir and pine trees, and used in making varnishes and colors. Pine snake (Zo["o]l.), a large harmless North American snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). It is whitish, covered with brown blotches having black margins. Called also bull snake. The Western pine snake (P. Sayi) is chestnut-brown, mottled with black and orange. Pine tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Pinus; pine. Pine-tree money, money coined in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and so called from its bearing a figure of a pine tree. Pine weevil (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of weevils whose larv[ae] bore in the wood of pine trees. Several species are known in both Europe and America, belonging to the genera Pissodes, Hylobius, etc. Pine wool, a fiber obtained from pine needles by steaming them. It is prepared on a large scale in some of the Southern United States, and has many uses in the economic arts; -- called also pine-needle wool, and pine-wood wool.
Squib\, n. [OE. squippen, swippen, to move swiftky, Icel. svipa to swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin to AS. swipian to whip, and E. swift, a. See Swift, a.]1. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack. Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze. --Waller. The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is punishable. --Blackstone. 2. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse. 3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay. Who copied his squibs, and re["e]choed his jokes. --Goldsmith. 4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.] The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers. --Tatler. 5. A paltry fellow. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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Audio Help [swift] Pronunciation Key adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun 
