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swither

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swither¹

  • /ˈswɪðə/

Rhymes with -ɪðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English *swithren, from Old Norse sviðra (“to burn, singe”). Related to Middle English swithen (“to burn, scorch, singe”), from Old Norse svíða (“to burn”).

verb swithers · swithering · swithered · swether · swidder

  1. dialectal To burn, scorch, singe.
  2. dialectal To burn slowly, melt (as a candle), sweal
  3. dialectal, figuratively To smart, ache; tingle

noun swithers · swether · swidder

  1. countable, dialectal, uncountable A great heat; a scorching, singeing
  2. countable, dialectal, uncountable Sweating.

swither²

  • /ˈswɪðə/

Rhymes with -ɪðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

First attested in 1501; of unknown origin.

verb swithers · swithering · swithered

  1. Northern England, Scotland To be indecisive or in a state of confusion; to dither.
  2. To move or swing about. He was filling his pipe, staring at his picture, not her, and this tacit dismissal allowed her to sidle over to the bank higher up, and there swither her legs about in the water before coming out of it.

noun swithers

  1. Northern England, Scotland A state of indecision or confusion; a panicked state; a flap, fluster, or dither. Bradly came bristling to the lagoon the following afternoon, in a swither of alarm and expectation.

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MLA

"swither." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swither. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

swither. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swither

Chicago

"swither." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swither.

BibTeX
@misc{swither_2026,
  title = {swither},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swither},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}