swift - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.

swift (comparative swifter, superlative swiftest)

  1. Fast; quick; rapid.
    swift action
    swift response
    swift recovery
    The river’s swift current carried the boat downstream.
    She gave a swift reply to his question.
    • 2011 November 12, Phil McNulty, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport‎[1], archived from the original on 25 June 2021:
      Spain were provoked into a response and Villa almost provided a swift equaliser when he rounded Hart but found the angle too acute and could only hit the side-netting.
    • 2025 February 12, Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak, “After Putin call, Trump says negotiations to end Ukraine war will start ‘immediately’”, in CNN‎[2], archived from the original on 15 April 2025:
      The call, which is the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last month, came as as[_sic_] Trump makes clear to his advisers he wants to bring the Ukraine conflict to a swift end.
  2. Capable of moving at high speeds.
  3. (informal) Quick-thinking; bright.
    • 2011, Paul A. Lavallee, Firewatch, page 44:
      That's what limos do — advertise, and he should have known that. But, as I told you before, officer, he's not too swift.

fast; quick; rapid

swift (comparative more swift, superlative most swift)

  1. (obsolete or poetic) Swiftly.

Common swift (Apus apus)

swift (plural swifts)

  1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.
    Synonyms: needletail, spinetail, swiftlet
  2. Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.
    Synonyms: fence lizard, spiny lizard
    • 1965 March, Boys' Life, page 52:
      As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.
  3. (entomology) A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.
    • 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:
      Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.
  4. (entomology) Any of various fast-flying hesperiid butterflies.
  5. (textiles) A light, collapsible reel used to hold a hank of yarn in order to wind off skeins or balls.
  6. The main cylinder of a carding-machine.
  7. (obsolete) The current of a stream.

bird

reel

From the verb swīfan.

swift (comparative swiftra, superlative swiftost)

  1. swift, quick
    • Exeter Book, Riddle 40
      mē is snæġl swiftra, snelra reġnwyrm
      ond fenȳċe fōre hreþre
      A snail is swifter than me, a earthworm faster,
      and a tortoise moves quicker

Declension of swift — Strong

Declension of swift — Weak

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