swain
nounattested in dialogue
- //sweɪn//
A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA young man or boy in service; a servant.
- 2
obsoleteA knight's servant; an attendant.
- 3
archaicA 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.
- 4
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?
“Oh, dear Miss Dobson, will you but accept my hand, all these things shall be yours—the cards, the canister, the goldfish, the demon egg-cup—all yours!” Zuleika, with ravishing coyness, answered that if he would give her them now, she would “think it over.” The swain consented, and at bed-time she retired with the gift under her arm.
You're the belle of the ball, and these are all your swains, hoping for a glimpse of ankle.
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”).
Forms
- plural
- swains
swain · A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting.
Swain · A surname.swallow · To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the…Swallow · A surname.