swindle

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   deprive of by deceit

   They swindled me out of my inheritance.

Simplified etymology

Swindle appeared in the mid-18th century and seems to have been formed from the slightly earlier swindler. Swindler came from German Schwindler, “schemer” or “swindler,” derived from schwindeln, which could mean both “be giddy” and “tell lies.”

Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”). See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary