swan

¹ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

1. any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.

2. a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.

3. Literary.  a person who sings sweetly or a poet.

4. Astronomy.  Swan, the constellation Cygnus.

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swan ² American  

[swon] / swɒn /

verb (used without object)

1. Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use.  to swear or declare (used withI ).

   Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!

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Swan ³ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.

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swan ¹ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes

2. rare

   1. a poet

   2. ( capital when part of a title or epithet )

      the Swan of Avon (Shakespeare)

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verb

1. informal  (intr; usually foll by around or about) to wander idly

Swan ² British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. a river in SW Western Australia, rising as the Avon northeast of Narrogin and flowing northwest and west to the Indian Ocean below Perth. Length: about 240 km (150 miles)

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Swan ³ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson. 1828–1914, English physicist and chemist, who developed the incandescent electric light (1880) independently of Edison

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Other Word Forms

• swanlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of swan¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Schwan, Old Norse svanr

Origin of swan²

1775–85, probably continuing dial. (N England) I s'wan, shortening of I shall warrant

Example Sentences

In the words of one central-bank manager, he quoted, the precious metal is the “ultimate protection against black swan tail risk events”.

From MarketWatch

None of my friends received a latte swan.

From The Wall Street Journal

He doesn’t discount the possibility of a “black swan”-type event in the near future.

From MarketWatch

But Kershaw and the rest of the Dodgers appreciated the significance of what could be a brilliant swan song to a magnificent career.

From Los Angeles Times

Hunters will soon be allowed to kill mute swans as part of an effort to cull the “destructive, non-native” species statewide, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

From Los Angeles Times