# swan

Pronunciation: US say "SWAHN" /swɑn/; UK say "SWON" /swɒn/

## Noun

1. Any of various large, long-necked waterfowl of the genus Cygnus, most species having white plumage.
   - Simple: A large white water bird with a long, curved neck that lives on lakes and rivers.
   - _A swan paddled silently among the reeds at the pond's edge._
   - _Two swans defended their nest aggressively when walkers came too close._
2. A person whose grace or bearing is reminiscent of a swan.
   - Simple: A person who moves with smooth, beautiful grace.
   - _She drifted through the ballroom, every inch a swan among the crowd._
   - _The poet described his beloved as a swan, slender and serene._
4. A depiction of the long-necked waterbird used as a charge in heraldry, sometimes shown with a crown around its neck.
   - Simple: A picture of the bird used on a coat of arms, sometimes with a crown around its neck.
   - _The county displays a swan on its shield, a chained crown about its neck._
   - _Heralds painted a swan onto the new crest, wings half-raised._

## Verb

3. To wander or move about idly, aimlessly, or with a pretentiously casual air.
   - Simple: To move around in a relaxed, lazy way, as if you have nothing important to do.
   - _Tourists swan along the boulevard, pausing wherever a shop window catches their eye._
   - _She swanned into the party an hour late, greeting no one in particular._
5. To declare or affirm, chiefly in first-person present constructions such as 'I swan.' *(dialectal, US)*
   - Simple: To declare or swear something, used mostly in the saying 'I swan' to show surprise.
   - _I swan, the price of groceries keeps climbing every single week._
   - _I do swan, she said, fanning herself against the heat._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4** — From Middle English and Old English "swan," from Proto-Germanic *swanaz ("swan," literally "the singing bird"), from a Proto-Indo-European root *swonh₂-/*swenh₂- meaning "to sing, make sound." It is related to German "Schwan," Dutch "zwaan," and the Swedish "svan," and possibly to Latin "sonus" ("sound") and Sanskrit "svan" ("sound"); it is a doublet of "sound."
**Meaning 5** — Probably from the dialectal "I s'wan," a corruption of "I shall warrant," or possibly from a minced form of "I swear on."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/swan (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).