I. ˈswä-(ˌ)lō noun
Etymology: Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe; akin to Old High German swalawa swallow
Date: before 12th century
1. : any of numerous small widely distributed oscine birds (family Hirundinidae, the swallow family) that have a short bill, long pointed wings, and often a deeply forked tail and that feed on insects caught on the wing
2. : any of several birds that superficially resemble swallows
[
swallow 1
]
II. verb
Etymology: Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; akin to Old High German swelgan to swallow
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1. : to take through the mouth and esophagus into the stomach
2. : to envelop or take in as if by swallowing : absorb
swallow the financial loss
watch night swallow the valley
3. : to accept without question, protest, or resentment
swallow an insult
a hard story to swallow
4. : take back , retract
had to swallow my words
5. : to keep from expressing or showing : repress
swallow ed my anger
6. : to utter (as words) indistinctly
intransitive verb
1. : to receive something into the body through the mouth and esophagus
2. : to perform the action characteristic of swallowing something especially under emotional stress
• swal·low·able ˈswä-lō-ə-bəl adjective
• swal·low·er ˈswä-lə-wər noun
III. noun
Date: 14th century
1. : the passage connecting the mouth to the stomach
2. : a capacity for swallowing
3.
a. : an act of swallowing
b. : an amount that can be swallowed at one time