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swank

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swank

1[swangk] noun, adjective, -er, -est, verb
–noun
1. dashing smartness, as in dress or appearance; style.
2. a swagger.
–adjective
3. stylish or elegant.
4. pretentiously stylish.
–verb (used without object)
5. to swagger in behavior; show off.

Origin:
1800–10; cf. Scots swank lively, perh. ult. repr. back formation from OE swancor lithe; akin to MD swanc supple, MHG swanken to sway

swank

2[swangk] ,
–verb
a pt. of swink.

swink

[swingk] ,verb (used without object), swank or swonk, swonk⋅en, swink⋅ing, noun British Archaic.
labor; toil.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME swinken, OE swincan; akin to swing 1


swinker, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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swank   (swāngk)   
adj.   swank·er, swank·est
  1. Imposingly fashionable or elegant; grand. See Synonyms at fashionable.

  2. Ostentatious; pretentious.

n.  
  1. Smartness in style or bearing; elegance.

  2. Swagger.

intr.v.   swanked, swank·ing, swanks
To act ostentatiously or pretentiously; swagger.

[Perhaps akin to Middle High German swanken, to swing.]
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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Slang Dictionary
swank [swæŋk]

  1. n.
    class; visible quality. : This place has swank. I like it.
  2. n.
    swag. : Where'd he hide the swank?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

swank 
1809, "to strut" (swanky, n., "attractive young fellow" is recorded from 1508), perhaps related to M.H.G. swanken "to sway, totter," and O.H.G. swingan "to swing." Said to have been a Midlands and southwestern England dialectal word. The noun meaning "ostentatious behavior" is recorded from 1854; adj. sense of "stylish, classy, posh" is from 1913. Swanky is attested from 1842.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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