swain
[ sweyn ]
/ sweɪn /
noun
a male admirer or lover.
a country lad.
a country gallant.
Nearby words
swaggering, swaggeringly, swaggie, swagman, swahili, swain, swainson's hawk, swainson's thrush, swak, swakara, swale
Origin of swain
before 1150; Middle English swein servant < Old Norse sveinn boy, servant; cognate with Old English swān
Related formsswain·ish, adjectiveswain·ish·ness, nounun·der·swain, noun
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for swain
British Dictionary definitions for swain
swain
/ (sweɪn) /
noun archaic, or poetic
a male lover or admirer
a country youth
Derived Formsswainish, adjective
Word Origin for swain
Old English swān swineherd; related to Old High German swein, Old Norse sveinn boy; see swine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for swain
swain
mid-12c., "young man attendant upon a knight," from Old Norse sveinn "boy, servant, attendant," from Proto-Germanic *swainaz "attendant, servant," properly "one's own (man)," from PIE *swoi-no-, from root *swe- "oneself, alone, apart" (see idiom). Cognate with Old English swan "shepherd, swineherd," Old Saxon swen, Old High German swein. Meaning "country or farm laborer" is from 1570s; that of "lover, wooer" (in pastoral poetry) is from 1580s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper