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swart

[swawrt]
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adjective
  1. swarthy.
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Origin of swart

before 900; Middle English; Old English sweart black, dark; cognate with German schwarz, Old Norse svartr, Gothic swarts; akin to Latin sordēs filth
Related formsswart·ness, noun

Swart

[swawrt]
noun
  1. Charles Rob·berts [rob-erts] /ˈrɒb ərts/, 1894–1982, South African statesman: president 1961–67.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for swart

tan, black, funereal, jet, slate, onyx, coal, sable, pitch, brunet, ebony, clouded, charcoal, sloe, obsidian, raven, jetty, brunette, brown, dark

Examples from the Web for swart

Historical Examples of swart

  • "P'raps I don't," said the swart man; and lapsed into a fuming silence.

    Tales of Space and Time

    Herbert George Wells

  • Her hair was silvery, and contrasted strangely with her swart face.

  • All,” answered Swart, “save the few fighting men that gained the fells.

    Erling the Bold

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • "Time is done," said Swart Piet, replacing the watch in his pocket.

    Swallow

    H. Rider Haggard

  • She has escaped from Swart Piet and is unharmed, but a prisoner among the Kaffirs.

    Swallow

    H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for swart

swart

swarth (swɔːθ)

adjective
  1. archaic, or dialect swarthy
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Derived Formsswartness or swarthness, noun

Word Origin for swart

Old English sweart; related to Old Frisian swart, Old Norse svartr, Old High German swarz black, Latin sordēs dirt; see sordid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for swart

adj.

Old English sweart "black," from Proto-Germanic *swartaz (cf. Old Frisian and Middle Dutch swart, Old Norse svartr, German schwarz, Gothic swarts "dark-colored, black"), from PIE root *swordo- "dirty, dark, black" (source of sordid). The true Germanic word for "black," surviving in the Continental languages.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper