swallow

swallow

swallow¹ [swä′lō]

n.

[ME swalwe < OE swealwe, akin to Ger schwalbe, ON svala, swallow, & prob. Russ solovyej, Czech slavík, nightingale]

1. any of a family (Hirundinidae) of small, swift-flying, insect-eating passerine birds with long, pointed wings and a forked tail, including the barn swallow and purple martin: most species migrate, often between widely separated summer and winter homes

2. any of various birds resembling swallows, as certain swifts

swallow² [swä′lō]

vt.

[ME swolwen < OE swelgan, akin to Ger schwelgen < IE base * swel-, to devour > SWILL]

1. to pass (food, drink, etc.) from the mouth through the gullet or esophagus into the stomach, usually by a series of muscular actions in the throat

2. to take in; absorb; engulf; envelop: often with up

3. to take back (words said); retract; withdraw

4. to put up with; tolerate; bear humbly [to swallow an insult]

5. to refrain from expressing; hold back; suppress [to swallow one's pride]

6. to utter (words) indistinctly

7. Informal to accept as true without question; receive gullibly

vi.

to move the muscles of the throat as in swallowing something; specif., to do so under stress of emotion

n.

1. the act of swallowing

2. the amount swallowed at one time

3. Now Chiefly Brit. the throat or gullet

4. Naut. the opening in a block or pulley through which the rope runs

swallower

n.