swain

Definition of swain

5 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

(obsolete)A young man or boy in service; a servant.

See all 5 definitions

noun

(obsolete)A young man or boy in service; a servant.
(obsolete)A knight's servant; an attendant.
(archaic)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.”
(poetic)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?”
“You're the belle of the ball, and these are all your swains, hoping for a glimpse of ankle.”

name

A surname.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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…

See full etymology

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”).

Anagrams of swain

6 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play wains 8 points

Words you can make from swain

32 playable · top: WAINS (8 pts)

Best play wains 8 points

4-letter words

10 words

3-letter words

13 words

2-letter words

8 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to swain to make another valid word.

Back

SWAINS 9 pts