Etymologically
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swimmer

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈswɪm.ə/[1]
  • US: /ˈswɪm.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English swimmer, formed from Middle English swimmen (“to swim”) + -er,[2][3] that is from the verb swim and the agent suffix -er.[4][5][6] The OED compares Middle Low German swemmer, Middle High German swimmer, German Schwimmer and Dutch zwemmer.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person or animal that swims in the water: 1377, in Langland's Piers Plowman.[4] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century, for a person or bird that swims.[6]

Semantic evolution

From 1399, again in Langland, it was used of an animal that habitually swims, and later of swimming birds as a group.[4] Johnson (1755) gave "one who swims", quoting Bacon and Browne.[7] From the late 16th century it also named things connected with floating: the swimming bladder of a fish (1579), an angler's float (before 1609) and a device that keeps something afloat (1740);[4] the fish bladder sense survived in Somerset dialect, and in Lincolnshire and Rutland a swimmer was a flat piece of wood floated in a pail to stop the liquid splashing out.[8][4] A cup filled to the brim was a swimmer from 1682 to 1706,[4] and in thieves' cant from about 1698 it was a counterfeit coin, perhaps because the metal was light enough to float.[9][4] Zoologists used it from 1816 for a swimming organ of an animal, and entomologists from 1815 for water spiders and swimming beetles.[4][6] In brewing it was a vessel of ice floated on the wort (1881).[4] In the 20th century swimmer, later swimmers, became slang for a swimming costume (1929), now chiefly Australian,[4][9] and colloquially, from 1987, a sperm.[4] Etymonline notes that swimmist (1881) seems to have been confined to the sports pages.[6]

Timeline

  • 1377 – a person or animal that swims.[4]
  • 1399 – an animal adapted for swimming.[4]
  • 1579 – the swimming bladder of a fish (now dialect).[4]
  • before 1609 – an angler's float.[4]
  • 1682 – a cup brimming over (obsolete by 1706).[4]
  • c. 1698 – thieves' cant, a counterfeit coin (obsolete by 1819).[9][4]
  • 1816 – a swimming organ of an animal.[4][6]
  • 1929 – a swimming costume.[4][9]
  • 1987 – colloquial, a sperm.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person or animal that swims, especially one of a stated ability: She is a strong swimmer.[2][5][4]
  2. A body part, such as a specialised appendage, used for swimming.[2][4]
  3. swimmers (chiefly Australian, informal): a swimsuit.[4][9]
  4. (colloquial) A sperm.[4]
  5. (obsolete, 1699–1819) In thieves' cant, a counterfeit coin.[4][9]

Word family

  • backswimmer
  • nonswimmer
  • swimmeret

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com