swell

B1 Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /swɛl/ See IPA manual

Freq #4722

Meanings

1

verb
To become larger, especially because of injury or being filled with something.

My ankle began to swell after I twisted it.
2

verb
To increase in size, number, or amount.

The crowd swelled as more fans arrived.
3

verb
To grow gradually louder or stronger.

The music swelled to a powerful crescendo.
4

verb
To be filled with a strong feeling such as pride.

Her heart swelled with pride as she watched her son graduate.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to become larger,... swell up

4 verb · to be filled with a strong... well up

Word family

Forms swelledswellerswellestswellingswells

Derived forms groundswellshrink-swellswell-headedswell-mobsmanupswell

Etymology

From Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-West Germanic *swellan, from Proto-Germanic *swellaną (“to swell”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian swälle (“to swell”), West Frisian swolle (“to swell”), Dutch zwellen (“to swell”), Low German swellen (“to swell”), German schwellen (“to swell”), Swedish svälla (“to swell”), Icelandic svella. The adjective may derive from the noun.

swellen Middle English swellan Old English *swellan Proto-West Germanic *swellaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

External links

# swell

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /swɛl/
**Frequency rank:** 4722

## Meanings
1. To become larger, especially because of injury or being filled with something.
2. To increase in size, number, or amount.
3. To grow gradually louder or stronger.
4. To be filled with a strong feeling such as pride.

## Examples
- My ankle began to swell after I twisted it.
- The crowd swelled as more fans arrived.
- The music swelled to a powerful crescendo.
- Her heart swelled with pride as she watched her son graduate.

## Derived Forms
- groundswell
- shrink-swell
- swell-headed
- swell-mobsman
- upswell

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: swellen
- Root: swellan
- Root: *swellan
- Root: *swellaną

## Etymology
From Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-West Germanic *swellan, from Proto-Germanic *swellaną (“to swell”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian swälle (“to swell”), West Frisian swolle (“to swell”), Dutch zwellen (“to swell”), Low German swellen (“to swell”), German schwellen (“to swell”), Swedish svälla (“to swell”), Icelandic svella. The adjective may derive from the noun.

## AI Etymology
Swell is from Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-West Germanic *swellan, from Proto-Germanic *swellaną (“to swell”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian swälle (“to swell”), West Frisian swolle (“to swell”), Dutch zwellen (“to swell”), Low German swellen (“to swell”), German schwellen (“to swell”), Swedish svälla (“to swell”), Icelandic svella. The adjective may derive from the noun.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity
- Describing Qualities

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swell

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