swim

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To move through water by using your arms, legs, fins, or tail.

   We had to swim for twenty minutes to reach the shore.

2. 2
   noun

   An act or period of swimming.

   They took a short swim in the pool before breakfast.

3. 3
   verb

   To be covered in or surrounded by a large amount of liquid.

   The meat was swimming in a fatty gravy.

4. 4
   verb

   To feel dizzy or unsteady.

   My head was swimming after the long flight.

From Middle English swymmen, from Old English swimman (“to swim, float”) (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle geswummen), from Proto-West Germanic *swimman, from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną (“to swim”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)- (“to be unsteady, move, swim”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian sweem, swome, swume, swumi, swumme, swääm (“to swim”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian swimme (“to swim”), Dutch zwemmen (“to swim”), German schwimmen (“to swim”), Limburgish schwämme, zwömme (“to swim”), Low German swimmen (“to swim”), Luxembourgish schwammen (“to swim”)…

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