late 14c., "act of propelling the body through water," verbal noun from swim (v.). Swimming hole is from 1855, American English; swimming pool is from 1881.
Entries linking to swimming
swim v.
Old English swimman "to move in or on the water, float" (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle swummen), from Proto-Germanic *swimjan (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German swimman, Old Norse svimma, Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen), from PIE root *swem- "to be in motion."
The root is sometimes said to be restricted to Germanic, but according to OED possible cognates are Welsh chwyf "motion," Old Irish do-sennaim "I hunt," Lithuanian sundyti "to chase." The more common Indo-European word is *sna-. Transitive sense of "cross by swimming" is from 1590s. Sense of "reel or move unsteadily" first recorded 1670s; of the head or brain, from 1702. Figurative phrase sink or swim is attested from mid-15c., in early use often with reference to ordeals of suspected witches.
swimmingly adv.
"with steady, smooth progress; in an easy, gliding manner," 1620s, from swimming + -ly (2).