v. & n.
v. 1 tr. cause or allow (food etc.) to pass down the throat. 2 intr. perform the muscular movement of the oesophagus required to do this. 3 tr. a accept meekly; put up with (an affront etc.). b accept credulously (an unlikely assertion etc.). 4 tr. repress; resist the expression of (a feeling etc.) (swallow one's pride). 5 tr. articulate (words etc.) indistinctly. 6 tr. (often foll. by up) engulf or absorb; exhaust; cause to disappear.
n. 1 the act of swallowing. 2 an amount swallowed in one action. swallow-hole Brit. = sink-hole (see SINK n. 6). swallowable adj. swallower n.
[ OE swelg (n.), swelgan (v.) f. Gmc ]