swain

American  

[sweyn] / sweɪn /

noun

1. a male admirer or lover.

2. a country lad.

3. a country gallant.

---

swain British  

/ sweɪn /

noun

1. a male lover or admirer

2. a country youth

---

Other Word Forms

• swainish adjective
• swainishness noun
• underswain noun

Etymology

Origin of swain

before 1150; Middle English swein servant < Old Norse sveinn boy, servant; cognate with Old English swān

Example Sentences

“Well, why wouldn’t she have a whole bunch of swains and sweethearts lined up for her all the way back to the windpump?”

From Literature

It is Elizabeth, not her equally eccentric and stubborn swain, who refuses to wed “because I can’t risk having my scientific contributions submerged beneath your name.”

From Washington Post

When her earlier swain returns from the war, he goes on a regretful bender, but then he, too, settles for someone else.

From The Guardian

John Mayer — one of her increasingly famous short-term swains — said he was “humiliated” by her song “Dear John.”

From Washington Post

Like a handsome but withholding swain, Elba draws us back to “Luther” time and again.

From Salon