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swan

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swan

1  [swon]
Use swan in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult. Compare mute swan, trumpeter swan, whistling swan, whooper swan.
2. a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.
3. Literary. a person who sings sweetly or a poet.
4. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Cygnus.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE; c. G Schwan, ON svanr

Related forms:
swanlike, adjective

swan

2  [swon]
–verb (used without object)
Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use. to swear or declare (used with I): Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!
Origin:
1775–85, Americanism; prob. continuing dial. (N England) I s'wan, shortening of I shall warrant

Swan

  [swon]
–noun
Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To swan
Cyg·nus   (sĭg'nəs)   
n.  A constellation in the Northern Hemisphere near Lacerta and Lyra, containing the star Deneb. Also called Northern Cross, Swan.

[Latin cygnus, swan; see cygnet.]
swan 1   (swŏn)   
n.  

  1. Any of various large aquatic birds of the family Anatidae chiefly of the genera Cygnus and Olor, having webbed feet, a long slender neck, and usually white plumage.

  2. Swan See Cygnus.

intr.v.   swanned, swan·ning, swans Chiefly British
To travel around from place to place: "Swanning around Europe nowadays, are we?" (Jeffrey Archer).

[Middle English, from Old English; see swen- in Indo-European roots.]
swan 2   (swŏn)   
intr.v.   Chiefly Southern U.S.
To declare; swear. Used in the phrase I swan as an interjection. See Regional Note at vum.

[Probably alteration of dialectal (I) s' warrant, (I) shall warrant.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

swan 
O.E. swan, from P.Gmc. *swanaz (cf. O.S. swan, O.N. svanr, M.Du. swane, Du. zwaan, O.H.G. swan, Ger. Schwan), probably lit. "the singing bird," from PIE base *swon-/*swen- "to sing, make sound" (see sound (n.1)); thus related to O.E. geswin "melody, song" and swinsian "to make melody." In classical mythology, sacred to Apollo and to Venus. The singing of swans before death was alluded to by Chaucer (c.1374), but swan-song (1831) is a translation of Ger. Schwanengesang. A black swan was proverbial for "something extremely rare or non-existent" (1398), after Juvenal ["Sat." vi. 164]. Swan dive is recorded from 1898.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Swan

mentioned in the list of unclean birds (Lev. 11:18; Deut. 14:16), is sometimes met with in the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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