swallow

Origin:
before 1000; (v.) Middle English swalwen, variant of swelwen, Old English swelgan; cognate with German schwelgen; akin to Old Norse svelgja; (noun) Middle English swalwe, swolgh throat, abyss, whirlpool, Old English geswelgh (see y-); akin to Middle Low German swelch, Old High German swelgo glutton, Old Norse svelgr whirlpool, devourer

Related forms

swal·low·a·ble, adjective

swal·low·er, noun

un·swal·low·a·ble, adjective

un·swal·lowed, adjective

Synonyms
1. eat, gulp, drink. 2. engulf, devour. 10. gulp, draught, drink.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

any of numerous small, long-winged passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, noted for their swift, graceful flight and for the extent and regularity of their migrations. Compare bank swallow, barn swallow, martin.

any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English swalwe, Old English swealwe; cognate with German Schwalbe, Old Norse svala

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To swallow

Collins

World English Dictionary

swallow¹ (ˈswɒləʊ)

—vb
1.	to pass (food, drink, etc) through the mouth to the stomach by means of the muscular action of the oesophagus
2.	(often foll by up) to engulf or destroy as if by ingestion: Nazi Germany swallowed up several small countries
3.	informal to believe gullibly: he will never swallow such an excuse
4.	to refrain from uttering or manifesting: to swallow one's disappointment
5.	to endure without retaliation
6.	to enunciate (words, etc) indistinctly; mutter
7.	(often foll by down) to eat or drink reluctantly
8.	(intr) to perform or simulate the act of swallowing, as in gulping
9.	swallow one's words to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances

—n
10.	the act of swallowing
11.	the amount swallowed at any single time; mouthful
12.	nautical crown, Also called: throat the opening between the shell and the groove of the sheave of a block, through which the rope is passed
13.	rare throat another word for gullet
14.	rare a capacity for swallowing; appetite

[Old English swelgan; related to Old Norse svelga, Old High German swelgan to swallow, Swedish svalg gullet]

'swallowable¹

—*adj*

'swallower¹

—n

swallow² (ˈswɒləʊ)

—n
1.	any passerine songbird of the family Hirundinidae, esp Hirundo rustica (common or barn swallow), having long pointed wings, a forked tail, short legs, and a rapid flightRelated: hirundine
2.	See fairy swallow

Related: hirundine

[Old English swealwe; related to Old Frisian swale, Old Norse svala, Old High German swalwa]

'swallow-like²

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

swallow

"take in through the throat," O.E. swelgan (class III strong verb; past tense swealg, pp. swolgen), from P.Gmc. *swelkh-/*swelg- (cf. O.S. farswelgan, O.N. svelgja "to swallow," M.Du. swelghen, Du. zwelgen "to gulp, swallow," O.H.G. swelahan "to swallow," Ger. schwelgan "to revel"). Connections outside

Gmc. uncertain. Sense of "consume, destroy" is attested from c.1340. Cognate with O.N. svelgr "whirlpool," lit. "devourer, swallower." Meaning "to accept without question" is from 1591. The noun meaning "an act of swallowing" is recorded from 1822.

swallow

"migratory bird" (family Hirundinidae), O.E. swealwe, from P.Gmc. *swalwon (cf. O.S., O.N., O.Fris., Swed. svala, Dan. svale, M.Du. zwalewe, Du. zwaluw, O.H.G. swalawa, Ger. Schwalbe), from PIE *swol-wi- (cf. Rus. solowej, Slovak slavik, Pol. slowik "nightinggale"). The etymological sense is disputed.

Popularly regarded as a harbinger of summer; swallows building nests on or near a house is considered good luck. First record of swallow-tail is 1545, of a type of arrowhead; of a type of coat, 1835.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

swallow swal·low (swŏl'ō)
v. swal·lowed, swal·low·ing, swal·lows
To pass something, as food or drink, through the mouth and throat into the stomach.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

swallow definition

n.
a puff of cigarette smoke. : He took just one swallow and started coughing.
tv.
to believe or accept something. (See also eat (sth) up.) : Nobody's gonna swallow that nonsense.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Easton

Bible Dictionary

Swallow definition

(1.) Heb. sis (Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7), the Arabic for the swift, which "is a regular migrant, returning in myriads every spring, and so suddenly that while one day not a swift can be seen in the country, on the next they have overspread the whole land, and fill the air with their shrill cry." The swift (cypselus) is ordinarily classed with the swallow, which it resembles in its flight, habits, and migration. (2.) Heb. deror, i.e., "the bird of freedom" (Ps. 84:3; Prov. 26:2), properly rendered swallow, distinguished for its swiftness of flight, its love of freedom, and the impossibility of retaining it in captivity. In Isa. 38:14 and Jer. 8:7 the word thus rendered ('augr) properly means "crane" (as in the R.V.).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

swallow

In addition to the idioms beginning with swallow, also see bitter pill to swallow.