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swinge

1 American  
[swinj] / swɪndʒ /

verb (used with object)

British Dialect.
swinged, swingeing
  1. to thrash; punish.


swinge 2 American  
[swinj] / swɪndʒ /

verb (used with object)

swinged, swingeing
  1. to singe.


swinge British  
/ swɪndʒ /

verb

  1. archaic (tr) to beat, flog, or punish

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of swinge1

1250–1300; Middle English swengen to shake, smite, Old English swengan, causative of swingan to swing, or denominative derivative of Old English sweng a blow

Origin of swinge2

First recorded in 1580–90; obscurely akin to singe

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sirrah, knave, I have a mind to swinge you!

From Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Francesca da Rimini by Moses, Montrose Jonas

Examples are: the double negative with ne; eyen, lenger, doen, ycladd, harrowd, purchas, raught, seely, stowre, swinge, owch, and withouten.

From Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I by Spenser, Edmund

"The Secretary promises me to swinge him," he wrote in 1711; "I must make that rogue an example for a warning to others."

From The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899 by Aitken, George A.

The young dogs, swinge them to the labour; Let wark an' hunger mak them sober!

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Burns, Robert

Uncle Archy, this is Lyman Hall; and for all you see him in these fine clothes, he's a swinge cat; a darn sight cleverer fellow than he looks to be.

From The Wit and Humor of America, Volume IV. (of X.) by Wilder, Marshall Pinckney

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