swarthy

[swawr-thee, -thee]

adjective

swarthier, swarthiest 

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

swarthy

/ ˈswɔːðɪ /

adjective

1. dark-hued or dark-complexioned

Other Word Forms

• swarthiness noun
• swarthily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of swarthy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of swarthy¹

C16: from obsolete swarty, from _swart + _-y ¹

Example Sentences

The best reason to watch it is Jude Law’s swarthily entertaining performance as Henry at his vilest, with state-of-the-art support from a horrifically pus-leaking, maggot-ridden leg wound.

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Among the thousands flocking to the city was a “short, scrappy and swarthy” Philadelphia artist born Emmanuel Radnitzky, “a pure product of immigrant America” in both his ambition and taste for self-reinvention.

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While these sensational tales depict the abortionist as swarthy and ugly, the women they harm reflect 19th-century Anglo-American feminine ideals.

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Not by accident, the sculpture’s glorious St. Michael is a rosy-cheeked, whiter-than-white European, while the subjugated devil bears dark, swarthy, mustachioed features of a grimacing Indian.

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

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