swing

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English swyngen, from Old English swingan, from Proto-West Germanic *swingan, from Proto-Germanic *swinganą (compare Low German swingen, German schwingen, Dutch zwingen, Swedish svinga), from Proto-Indo-European *swenk-, *sweng- (compare Scottish Gaelic seang (“thin”)). Related to swink. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈswɪŋ/ Rhymes: -ɪŋ === Verb === swing (third-person singular simple present swings, present participle swinging, simple past swung or (archaic or dialectal) swang, past participle swung or (archaic or dialectal) swang or (archaic) swungen) (intransitive) To rotate about an off-centre fixed point. Troponyms: pivot, swivel (intransitive) To dance. (intransitive) To ride on a swing. (intransitive, sex) To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wifeswapping. (intransitive) To hang from the gallows; to be punished by hanging, swing for something or someone; (often hyperbolic) to be severely punished. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:die by hanging (intransitive, cricket, of a ball) To move sideways in its trajectory. (transitive, cricket) (of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways in its trajectory. (intransitive) To fluctuate or change. (transitive) To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave. (transitive) To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election. (transitive, slang) To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially. (transitive, music) To play notes that are in pairs by making the first of the pair slightly longer than written (augmentation) and the second shorter, resulting in a bouncy, uneven rhythm. (transitive and intransitive, boxing) To move one's arm in a punching motion. (transitive) In dancing, to turn around in a small circle with one's partner, holding hands or arms. (transitive, engineering) To admit or turn something for the purpose of shaping it; said of a lathe. (transitive, carpentry) To put (a door, gate, etc.) on hinges so that it can swing or turn. (nautical) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor. To turn in a different direction. To be sexually oriented. ==== Coordinate terms ==== (be executed by hanging): fry ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === swing (countable and uncountable, plural swings) The act, or an instance, of swinging. The manner in which something is swung. The sweep or compass of a swinging body. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing. A hanging seat that can swing back and forth, in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing. Hyponym: tire swing An energetic and acrobatic late-1930s partner-based dance style, also known as jitterbug and lindy-hop. (music) The genre of music associated with this dance style. The amount of change towards or away from something. (politics) In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party. (cricket) Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it. (theater) In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles. A basic dance step in which a pair link hands and turn round together in a circle. The maximum amount of change that has occurred or can occur; the sum of the maximum changes in any direction. (obsolete) Free course; unrestrained liberty. Influence or power of anything put in motion. (boxing) A type of hook with the arm more extended. ==== Quotations ==== 1937, Ivie Anderson, song “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm” (Gus Kahn, Bronislaw Kaper, Walter Jurman), in film A Day at the Races, Sam Wood (director), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer All God’s chillun got rhythm. All God's chillun got swing. Maybe haven't got money, maybe haven't got shoes. All God’s chillun got rhythm for to push away their blues. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === Gwins, wings == Czech == === Noun === swing m inan swing (dance) ==== Declension ==== This noun needs an inflection-table template. === Further reading === “swing”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957 “swing”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989 == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from English swing. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /swiŋ/ === Noun === swing m (plural swings) swing; several senses === Further reading === “swing”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Italian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English swing. === Noun === swing m (invariable) swing (music and dance style; golf swing) == Portuguese == === Alternative forms === suingue === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English swing. === Pronunciation === === Noun === swing m (plural swings) swing (a dance and music style) swinging (exchange of partners for sex) === Further reading === “swing”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “swing”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026 “swing”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English swing. === Noun === swing n (uncountable) swing ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English swing. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈswin/ [ˈswĩn] Rhymes: -in === Noun === swing m (plural swings) swing (dance) ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “swing”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025