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swanned

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swan

2  [swon]
Use swanned in a Sentence
–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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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.]
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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