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Swallow
Definitions
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A village and civil parish in West Lindsey district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref TA1703). countable, uncountable
- 1 A deep chasm or abyss in the earth. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 2 A small, migratory bird of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and a forked tail which feeds on the wing by catching insects.
- 3 the act of swallowing wordnet
- 4 The mouth and throat; that which is used for swallowing; the gullet. archaic, countable, uncountable
"The door burst wide open, and he saw nothing but a gaping jaw extending from the threshold up to the lintel. "There is a mouthful for you," said the youngster, and threw the pauper boy into the swallow; "taste that! But let me see now who you are! Perhaps you are an old acquaintance?" And so it was; it was the devil who was about again."
- 5 small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations wordnet
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- 6 The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing. countable, uncountable
"He took the aspirin with a single swallow of water."
- 7 a small amount of liquid food wordnet
- 8 The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes. countable, uncountable
"In addition, j-lock shackles can pass through the swallow of a modern genoa track even with a sheet in tension already there, and this is very useful when preparing a sail change on the same tack."
- 9 Any of various carbohydrate-based dishes that are swallowed without much chewing, commonly paired and eaten with various types of soup. Nigeria, countable, uncountable
- 1 To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat. transitive
"What the liquor was I do not know, but it was not so strong but that I could swallow it in great gulps and found it less burning than my burning throat."
- 2 believe or accept without questioning or challenge wordnet
- 3 To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb. transitive
"The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time."
- 4 tolerate or accommodate oneself to wordnet
- 5 To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion. intransitive
"My throat was so sore that I was unable to swallow."
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- 6 keep from expressing wordnet
- 7 To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept. transitive
"this humbug was readily swallowed by men who were supposed to be intelligent,"
- 8 take back what one has said wordnet
- 9 To engross; to appropriate; usually with up. intransitive
"Homer excels […] in this, that he swallowed up the honour of those who succeeded him."
- 10 utter unclearly wordnet
- 11 To retract; to recant. transitive
"to swallow one's opinions"
- 12 engulf and destroy wordnet
- 13 To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation. transitive
"to swallow an affront or insult"
- 14 pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking wordnet
- 15 enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English swolwen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill. The noun is from Middle English swolow, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).
From Middle English swolwen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill. The noun is from Middle English swolow, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).
From Middle English swalwe, swalewe, swalowe, from Old English swealwe, from Proto-West Germanic *swalwā, from Proto-Germanic *swalwǭ. Cognate with Norwegian and Danish svale, Dutch zwaluw, German Schwalbe, Swedish svala.
* As an English surname, from the noun swallow (sense 2). * Also as an English surname, from Swallow in Lincolnshire, named after its river. The placename itself could be related to the verb swell, or related to the name of the river Swale.
See also for "swallow"
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