英语词汇swift的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

词汇	swift
词源	swift adj. Old English swift "moving quickly," perhaps originally "turning quickly," from Proto-Germanic swip- (see swivel (n.)). Related: Swiftly; swiftness. swift n. type of bird (several species of the family Cypselidæ, resembling swallows), 1660s, from swift (adj.) in reference to its swift flight. Regarded as a bird of ill-omen, if not downright demonic, probably for its shrill cry. The name earlier had been given to several small fast lizards (1520s). Entries linking to swift* swivel n. c. 1300, "coupling device that allows independent rotation," from frequentative form of stem of Old English verb swifan "to move in a course, revolve, sweep" (a I strong verb), from Proto-Germanic swif- (source also of Old Frisian swiva "to be uncertain," Old Norse svifa "to rove, ramble, drift"), from PIE root swei- (2) "to turn, bend, move in a sweeping manner." Related Middle English swive was the principal slang verb for "to have sexual intercourse with," a sense that developed c. 1300. This probably explains why, though the root is verbal, the verb swivel is not attested in Modern English until 1794. Compare Middle English phrase smal-swivinge men "men who copulate infrequently." updated on December 04, 2021
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swift adj.