swan

¹ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

1. any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.

2. a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.

3. Literary. a person who sings sweetly or a poet.

4. Astronomy. Swan, the constellation Cygnus.

---

swan ² American  

[swon] / swɒn /

verb (used without object)

1. Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use. to swear or declare (used withI ).

   Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!

---

Swan ³ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.

---

swan ¹ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes

2. rare

   1. a poet

   2. ( capital when part of a title or epithet )

      the Swan of Avon (Shakespeare)

---

verb

1. informal (intr; usually foll by around or about) to wander idly

Swan ² British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. a river in SW Western Australia, rising as the Avon northeast of Narrogin and flowing northwest and west to the Indian Ocean below Perth. Length: about 240 km (150 miles)

---

Swan ³ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson. 1828–1914, English physicist and chemist, who developed the incandescent electric light (1880) independently of Edison

---

Other Word Forms

• swanlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of swan¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Schwan, Old Norse svanr

Origin of swan²

1775–85, probably continuing dial. (N England) I s'wan, shortening of I shall warrant

Example Sentences

The lifeguard had ordered him out of the water, because the sudden arrival of a phalanx of swans was making the smaller children scream.

From Literature

The deaths of more than 20 swans along a stretch of river is suspected to have been caused by avian flu.

From BBC

“It looks very shortsighted to me,” said Mark Green as he fed scraps of stale bread to a group of swans gliding along Christchurch’s waterfront.

From The Wall Street Journal

My parents look at me like they don’t quite know me, but in a good way, like they’re surprised to find that their ugly duckling was a swan all along.

From Literature

Then someone had the idea to rent swan boats, at $12 each for the hour.

From The Wall Street Journal