I. ˈswän also -wȯn noun
( plural swans also swan )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch swane swan, Middle High German swan, Old Norse svanr swan, Old English swinsian to make music, swinn music, melody; perhaps from the legendary belief that the swan sings before it dies — more at sound
1. : any of various heavy-bodied very long-necked aquatic birds related to but larger than the geese, constituting a distinct subfamily of the family Anatidae, having usually pure white plumage when adult, walking awkwardly, flying strongly when once started, and being graceful swimmers — see black swan , mute swan , trumpeter swan , whooper swan
2.
a. : one that resembles or is likened to a swan
the accused are all swans and the blackness of guilt is thrown upon the witnesses — Miles Prance
b. : one who makes music of the melodic sweetness traditionally ascribed to the dying song of a swan : bard , singer
sweet swan of Avon — Ben Jonson
II. intransitive verb
( swanned ; swanned ; swanning ; swans )
: to wander aimlessly or sweep majestically : dally , sail
such vehicles … would hamper operations if they started swanning about in the midst of a swirling, hit-and-run tank fight — Russell Hill
professional delegates, swanning with practiced appreciation from one … convention to another — James Cameron
aircraft equipped with loudspeakers swanned low over the forest with a new message — Time
III. verb
( swanned ; swanned ; swanning ; swans )
Etymology: perhaps euphemism for swear
intransitive verb
dialect : declare , swear
we're goin' to miss her, I swan — J.C.Lincoln
transitive verb
dialect : surprise
said he'd be swanned … and took on like there was no predicting what a school education would do for a clerk — Frederick Way
IV.
Usage: usually capitalized
variant of svan