swim

Meanings

Verb

• To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
• To become immersed in, or as if in, or flooded with, or as if with, a liquid
• To move around freely because of excess space.
• To traverse (a specific body of water, or a specific distance) by swimming; or, to utilize a specific swimming stroke; or, to compete in a specific swimming event.
• To cause to swim.
• To float.
• To be overflowed or drenched.
• To immerse in water to make the lighter parts float.
• To test (a suspected witch) by throwing into a river; those who floated rather than sinking were deemed to be witches.
• To glide along with a waving motion.
• To be dizzy or vertiginous; have a giddy sensation; to have, or appear to have, a whirl motion.

Noun

• An act or instance of swimming.
• The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.
• A part of a stream much frequented by fish.
• A dance move of the 1960s in which the arms are moved in a freestyle swimming manner.
• A dizziness; swoon.
• Abbreviation of someone who isn't me

Origin

• From Middle English swimmen, from Old English swimman (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle geswummen), from Proto-West Germanic *swimman, from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)-.
• Cognate with Scots sweem, soom, Saterland Frisian swimme ("to swim"), West Frisian swimme ("to swim, float"), Dutch zwemmen ("to swim"), German schwimmen ("to swim"), Norwegian Bokmål and Danish svømme ("to swim"), Swedish simma ("to swim"), Norwegian Nynorsk symja ("to swim").
• From Middle English swime, sweme, swaime (“a dizziness, swoon, trance”), from Old English swima.
• Abbreviation of someone who isn't me.