swift English · revision 7448

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *swipaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /swɪft/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|swift|t=moving quickly]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) related to [[m|ang|swīfan|t=to move in a course, sweep]] (see [[swivel]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) perhaps originally “turning quickly”, from Proto-Germanic *swip- with a past-participle suffix.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Moving quickly: about 725, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is a surname by the mid-12th century,^(Etymonline) and prompt or ready to act without delay from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The adverb is from about 1380.^(Barnhart 1988) The bird, from its rapid flight, is from 1668, the mid-17th century in NODE,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) and was regarded as a bird of ill omen.^(Etymonline) Earlier, from the 16th century, a newt or swift-running lizard was called a swift.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) Obsolete swiftship, the ability to run fast, is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – fast-moving.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – prompt.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1380 – the adverb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – a lizard.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1668 – the bird.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Moving or able to move very fast; [[fast]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Happening quickly or promptly: ''a swift response''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fast-flying bird with long, narrow wings, of the family Apodidae.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[swiftly]]

+ * [[swiftness]]

+ * [[swift-footed]]

+ * [[swiftlet]]

+ * [[swift fox]]

+ * [[chimney swift]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[swivel]]

+ * [[sweep]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate nautical verb swift, to tighten with a rope, is probably of Scandinavian origin, related to Old Norse svipta.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}