swallow English · revision 15336

+ The bird and the verb are two unrelated Old English words.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈswɒl.əʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈswɑ.loʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|bird}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 700|origins=gem-pro *swalwōn}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The bird is [[inh|enm|swalwe]], [[inh|ang|swealwe]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*swalwōn]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[osx|swala]], [[nl|zwaluw]], [[goh|swalawa]] (modern [[m|de|Schwalbe]]) and [[non|svala]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*swol-wi-]], also seen in [[ru|соловей|tr=solovej|t=nightingale]]; the original sense is disputed.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 700 in the OED, before 800 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Swallows are popularly regarded as harbingers of summer,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and the proverb ''one swallow does not make a summer'' is from 1539, in Taverner's translation of Erasmus.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A swallow dive is from 1902,^(OED 1989) and the swallow-hawk was named for the shape of its flight.^(Etymonline) Swallows building nests near a house were thought lucky.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – swealwe.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1539 – one swallow does not make a summer.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – swallow dive.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small swift-flying [[migratory]] bird with long pointed wings and a forked tail, of the family Hirundinidae.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[swallowtail]]

+ * [[swallow-tailed]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|pass down the throat}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ine-pro *swel-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|swolwen]], [[inh|ang|swelgan|t=to swallow, imbibe, absorb]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*swelganą]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[osx|farswelgan]], [[nl|zwelgen]], [[goh|swelgan]] (modern [[m|de|schwelgen|t=to revel]]) and [[non|svelgja]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) held to be from [[ine-pro|*swel-|t=to eat, drink]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1000 in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English forms are swelȝen probably before 1200, swolowen about 1380 and swallow 1500–20.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To engulf or drown, of the sea or the grave, is from the 12th century,^(Etymonline) and figuratively to consume or destroy from the mid-14th.^(Etymonline) To accept something without question is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and the intransitive use from about 1700.^(Etymonline) A separate noun swallow, a deep hole or gulf (before 1100), is from Old English [[m|ang|ġeswelg]],^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and survives in ''swallow hole'', a cavity in limestone.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – swelgan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 12th century – to engulf.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – to believe readily.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1700 – to swallow (intransitive).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make food or drink pass from the mouth through the throat into the stomach.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To engulf or destroy as if by swallowing: ''swallowed up by the empire''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To believe too readily.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put up with, or hold back: ''swallow one's pride''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of swallowing, or an amount swallowed.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[martlet]]

+ * [[swill]]

+ * [[gulp]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}