[swon] 
| 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. |
[swon] | Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use. to swear or declare (used with I): Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here! |
[swon] | Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor. |
| 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.
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.] |
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.