I. ˈswä(ˌ)lō, -_lə also ˈswȯ(-; -_ləw, -_lō+V; dial, or NE+V, -_lər noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English swalwe, swalowe, from Old English swealwe, swealewe; akin to Old High German swalawa swallow, Old Norse svala swallow, Russian soloveĭ nightingale
1. : any of numerous small long-winged passerine birds (family Hirundinidae) that are noted for their graceful flight and regular migrations, have a short bill with a wide gape, small weak feet, plumage usually iridescent above, and often a deeply forked tail, occur in all parts of the world except New Zealand and polar regions, and feed on insects caught on the wing — see bank swallow , barn swallow , martin
2. : any of several swifts (as the chimney swift) that superficially resemble swallows — see sea swallow , wood swallow
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II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English swalowen, swelewen, from Old English swelgan; akin to Old High German swelgan, swelahan to swallow, Old Norse svelgja
transitive verb
1.
a. : to take through the esophagus into the stomach : receive into the body through the mouth and throat
swallowing pint after pint of strong old ale — G.G.Carter
b. : to eat hurriedly without careful chewing : gulp down
swallowed his lunch and rushed out
2.
a. : to cause to disappear : envelop completely : engulf , devour
admire the view before the night swallowed it — Claud Cockburn
history is big enough to swallow us too — H.J.Muller
— often used with up
wished the floor … would open and swallow her up — Fortnight
b. : to cause to become insignificant or unnoticeable : displace
in danger of being swallowed by the world — R.W.Southern
— usually used with up
had been swallowed up by the fame of the man he later came to be — Virginia D. Dawson & Betty D. Wilson
the theory of electromagnetism swallowed up the theory of light — A.N.Whitehead
c. : to cause to become engrossed : occupy completely — usually used with up
3.
a. : to absorb eagerly or easily (as with the mind)
could not swallow books like oysters — Francis Biddle
b. : to grasp fully : comprehend
her head could not swallow it — R.A.W.Hughes
c. : to seize for oneself : appropriate
feared that his … neighbors … would swallow him and his people — A.P.Ryan
— often used with up
city after city was swallowed up — G.G.Coulton
4. : to accept readily without question
city fathers who couldn't quite swallow the idea of being ruled by a 17-year-old girl — C.M.L.Beuf
especially : to believe implicitly and often naïvely
swallowed his every remark as gospel — Rex Ingamells
his talks were listened to with openmouthed attention and duly swallowed whole — Polly Adler
5. : to make a retraction of : recant
offered the opportunity of swallowing their views and fading away without harsher punishment — Time
6. : to put up with : accept submissively : endure
swallowed an injustice which others would not have tolerated — R.G.Adams
7. : to refrain from expressing or showing : repress
pride was swallowed and the government retreated — J.H.Plumb
swallowed a smile — Hamilton Basso
8. : to utter (as words) indistinctly through failure to open the mouth wide enough
swallowed so many of his words that he might as well have been singing in Esperanto — Robert Evett
intransitive verb
1. : to receive something into the body through the mouth and throat
finished chewing and swallowed
2. : to perform the action characteristic of swallowing something especially under emotional stress
swallowed hard and turned away — F.V.W.Mason
Synonyms: see eat
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- swallow the anchor
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English swalowe, swelowe, from Old English ge swelg gulf, abyss; akin to Middle High German swalch abyss, gullet, Old Norse svelgr whirlpool, swallower, svelgja to swallow
1.
a. archaic : a deep opening in the earth : chasm , abyss
b. archaic
(1) : a deep body of water
(2) : whirlpool
c. or swallow hole chiefly Britain : sink 5
2.
a. : a passage connecting the mouth to the stomach
b. : a part (as the pharynx, throat, esophagus) of this passage
3.
a. : a capacity for swallowing : appetite
measures the honesty and understanding of mankind by a capaciousness of their swallow — Henry Fielding
b. : a capacity for believing
he believes with the aid of those who have a bigger swallow — Leo Stein
4.
a. : an instance of swallowing : gulp
ate the canapé in one swallow
b. : an amount that can be swallowed at one time
took a swallow of brandy to clear his head
5. : an aperture in a block on a ship between the sheave and frame through which the rope reeves