Etymologically
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swindle

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 06:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈswɪndəl/[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from swindler (1774),[2][3][4][5] borrowed from German Schwindler (“giddy person, wild speculator, cheat”),[2][3][4] from schwindeln “to be dizzy; to swindle”,[2][3][4] from Old High German swintilōn, a frequentative of swintan “to languish, vanish”.[2][3][4] Old English swindan “to vanish” is related.[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To act as a swindler; to cheat for money (1782).[7][4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In German the idea ran from dizziness to wild, irresponsible schemes and so to fraud.[4][6] The transitive sense “to cheat a person out of money” is recorded in 1803.[7] The noun, “a fraudulent scheme”, dates from 1821 in Merriam-Webster and 1833 in the OED,[3][7][5] and the jocular swindle sheet “expense account” from 1923.[7][5] The OED also records an older, unrelated noun swindle “giddiness” from 1559.[7]

Timeline

  • 1774 – swindler.[4]
  • 1782 – verb, to practise fraud.[7][4][5][3]
  • 1803 – verb, to cheat a person out of money.[7]
  • 1821–1833 – noun, a fraud or fraudulent scheme.[3][7][5]
  • 1923 – swindle sheet, an expense account.[7][5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To cheat someone out of money or property.
  2. To obtain something by fraud.

Noun

  1. A fraudulent scheme or act of cheating.
  2. Something that is not what it appears to be; a fraud.

Word family

  • swindler

Usage notes

Random House lists cozen, dupe, trick and gull as synonyms of the verb.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press