swim

Pronunciation

• IPA: /swɪm/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English swimmen, inherited from Old English swimman (“to move in or on the water, float”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną,^[3][2] cognate with Old Saxon swimman, Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen and Old Norse svimma,^[2][3] perhaps from PIE Proto-Indo-European *swem- (“to be in motion”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To move in water: Old English, about 725, in Beowulf.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

To cross by swimming is from the 1590s.^[3] Sink or swim is from the early 15th century,^[3][6] and swim with the tide by the 1590s.^[3] Of things seen by a dizzy person, to reel, is from the 1670s, and of the head, to feel dizzy, from 1702, perhaps influenced by Old English swīma (“unconsciousness”).^[3] The noun meant the clear part of a liquid (1540s), and an act of swimming from 1764.^[3][7] A stretch of river frequented by fish is from 1828, which probably gave in the swim, in the current of events (late 19th century).^[3][6]

Timeline

• c. 725 – to swim.^[2]
• early 15th century – sink or swim.^[3]
• 1670s – to reel, of sight.^[3]
• 1764 – an act of swimming.^[3]
• late 19th century – in the swim.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To move through water by moving the arms and legs or, of fish, the fins and tail.
2. To cross by swimming: swim the Channel.
3. To float on or be covered with liquid: swimming in gravy.
4. To feel dizzy, or to seem to whirl: my head is swimming.

Noun

1. A period of swimming.

Word family

• swimmable
• swimmer
• swimsuit
• outswim
• swimmy
• swimwear
• swim bladder
• swim fin

Related words

• swimming

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press