swarthy

American  

[swawr-thee, -thee] / ˈswɔr ði, -θi /

adjective

swarthier, swarthiest

1. (of skin color, complexion, etc.) dark.

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swarthy British  

/ ˈswɔːðɪ /

adjective

1. dark-hued or dark-complexioned

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Other Word Forms

• swarthiness
  noun
• swarthily
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of swarthy

First recorded in 1570–80; unexplained variant of obsolete swarty ( swart + -y ¹ )

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Explanation

Swarthy means dark skinned. If you like tall, dark and handsome men, you find a swarthy complexion attractive. Not everyone with dark skin is swarthy. The word is usually used to describe someone whose skin is weather beaten and darkened by the sun, or has an olive complexion. But the famous 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman, who was of English and Dutch stock, seemed to be describing himself in his poem "Behold This Swarthy Face," so swarthy may be in the eyes of the beholder.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swarthy swarthier swarthiest

"You miss Russell Crowe, but Mescal is always watchable, with a stocky, swarthy, brooding presence," he added in the four-star review.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024

Some in my father’s swarthy family liked to claim descent from Spanish Jews who fled the Inquisition to Poland — perhaps there was a reason for my affinity for Mediterranean food!

From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2020

In his Panama hat, his salmon three-piece suit, with his thick mustache, his swarthy olive skin, he looked like one of those national-costume dolls our island tías kept in a cabinet.

From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2018

His hair was black; his eyes were black; his complexion was swarthy.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 3, 2016

He knew Lem Harvey—a huge fellow with hulking shoulders and a sullen, swarthy face.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

He was taller, swarthier and more imposing than I had expected.

From Time Magazine Archive

Behind him marched proudly a dusty line of men, well-armed and bearing great battle-axes; grim-faced they were, and shorter and somewhat swarthier than any men that Pippin had yet seen in Gondor.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

A twenty-third, not so vile-featured but swarthier of skin, sank softly against the logs at the rear of the shack, one ear pressed to a chink.

From The Return of Blue Pete by Luke Allan

These men were much shorter than the Iceni, they were swarthier in complexion, and their hair was long and matted.

From Beric the Briton : a Story of the Roman Invasion by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

They were swarthier and stockier than the man who had interested me, and had indefinite, soft eyes.

From The Eye of Zeitoon by Talbot Mundy

The swarthiest among the swarthy faces, the darkest of dark hair, the most passionate among the fiery spirits belonged to Isaak Todros.

From An Obscure Apostle A Dramatic Story by C. S. de Soissons

And do you, sir," continued the Guardsman to the swarthiest of them all, "feel the heat of the climate much?

From Here, There and Everywhere by Lord Frederick Spencer Hamilton

Amid a roar of rage from a thousand throats, a roar that might have shaken the stoutest heart, and blanched the swarthiest cheek, Bezers disappeared within!

From The House of the Wolf; a romance by Stanley John Weyman

The coarsest complexion gains in lustre and smoothness when attempt is made to render it upon ivory; the dainty groundwork gleams through and gives beauty and clearness to the swarthiest hues.

From Art in England Notes and Studies by Dutton Cook

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