swain
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swain¹
- /sweɪn/
Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English swayn, swain, sweyn, swein, from Old English sweġen (attested also as personal name Swein, Sweġen), from Old Norse sveinn, from Proto-Germanic *swainaz (“relative, young man, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“oneself; separate; apart”), thus properly one's own.
Cognate with Danish svend (“hireling, young man”), Norwegian svein (“lad, young man, servant”) Icelandic sveinn (“boy, lad, servant”), Swedish sven (“swain, servant”), Low German Sween, dialectal German Schwein, Old English swān (“swineherd, lad”).
noun swains · swaine · swein
- A young man or boy in service; a servant.
- A knight's servant; an attendant.
- A country labourer; a countryman, a rustic. theſe that ſeeme but ſilly country Swaines, May haue the leading of so great an hoſte, As with their waight ſhal make the mountains quake.
- A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting. Why thus from the Plain does my Shepherdess rove Forsaking Her Swain and neglecting his love?
Swain²
proper noun Swains · Swaine
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fellow, boyfriend, beau, young man, commander, lover, suitor, cuckold, lovelorn, madan, swainling, swein, sea boy, slavey, shepherd, knave
Translations
Every language
noun young man or boy, young shepherd, young attendant
| Español | zagal |
|---|
Talk about this word "swain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. swain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swain "swain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swain.Cite this
@misc{swain_2026,
title = {swain},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swain},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
