Meaning of "swan" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SWAN

Old English; related to Old Norse svanr, Middle Low German swōn.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF SWAN

swan  [swɒn]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SWAN

Swan is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb swan in English.

WHAT DOES SWAN MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Swan

Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus Cygnus. The swans' close relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six or seven species of swan in the genus Cygnus; in addition there is another species known as the coscoroba swan, although this species is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, though "divorce" does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure. And if a mate dies, or is killed by a predator, the remaining mate will take up with another; however, if all goes well in the pairing, they indeed will stay together for life. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight.

Definition of swan in the English dictionary

The first definition of swan in the dictionary is any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Other definition of swan is a poet. Swan is also to wander idly.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SWAN

PRESENT

Present

I swan

you swan

he/she/it swans

we swan

you swan

they swan

Present continuous

I am swaning

you are swaning

he/she/it is swaning

we are swaning

you are swaning

they are swaning

Present perfect

I have swaned

you have swaned

he/she/it has swaned

we have swaned

you have swaned

they have swaned

Present perfect continuous

I have been swaning

you have been swaning

he/she/it has been swaning

we have been swaning

you have been swaning

they have been swaning

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I swaned

you swaned

he/she/it swaned

we swaned

you swaned

they swaned

Past continuous

I was swaning

you were swaning

he/she/it was swaning

we were swaning

you were swaning

they were swaning

Past perfect

I had swaned

you had swaned

he/she/it had swaned

we had swaned

you had swaned

they had swaned

Past perfect continuous

I had been swaning

you had been swaning

he/she/it had been swaning

we had been swaning

you had been swaning

they had been swaning

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will swan

you will swan

he/she/it will swan

we will swan

you will swan

they will swan

Future continuous

I will be swaning

you will be swaning

he/she/it will be swaning

we will be swaning

you will be swaning

they will be swaning

Future perfect

I will have swaned

you will have swaned

he/she/it will have swaned

we will have swaned

you will have swaned

they will have swaned

Future perfect continuous

I will have been swaning

you will have been swaning

he/she/it will have been swaning

we will have been swaning

you will have been swaning

they will have been swaning

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would swan

you would swan

he/she/it would swan

we would swan

you would swan

they would swan

Conditional continuous

I would be swaning

you would be swaning

he/she/it would be swaning

we would be swaning

you would be swaning

they would be swaning

Conditional perfect

I would have swan

you would have swan

he/she/it would have swan

we would have swan

you would have swan

they would have swan

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been swaning

you would have been swaning

he/she/it would have been swaning

we would have been swaning

you would have been swaning

they would have been swaning

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you swan
we let´s swan
you swan

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to swan

Past participle

swaned

Present Participle

swaning

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

TRANSLATION OF SWAN

Find out the translation of swan to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of swan from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «swan» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 天鹅
• Translator English - Spanish: cisne
• English: swan
• Translator English - Hindi: स्वान
• Translator English - Arabic: إِوَزٌّ عِرَاقِيّ
• Translator English - Russian: лебедь
• Translator English - Portuguese: cisne
• Translator English - Bengali: রাজহাঁস
• Translator English - French: cygne
• Translator English - Malay: Angsa
• Translator English - German: Schwan
• Translator English - Japanese: 白鳥
• Translator English - Korean: 백조
• Translator English - Javanese: Swan
• Translator English - Vietnamese: con thiên nga
• Translator English - Tamil: அன்ன பறவை
• Translator English - Marathi: हंस
• Translator English - Turkish: kuğu
• Translator English - Italian: cigno
• Translator English - Polish: łabędź
• Translator English - Ukrainian: лебідь
• Translator English - Romanian: lebădă
• Translator English - Greek: κύκνος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: Swan
• Translator English - Swedish: svan
• Translator English - Norwegian: svane

6 QUOTES WITH «SWAN»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word swan.

1

Saint Basil

Now, if you notice how the swan, putting its neck down into the deep water, brings up food for itself from below, then you will discover the wisdom of the Creator, in that He gave it a neck longer than its feet for this reason, that it might, as if lowering a sort of fishing line, procure the food hidden in the deep water.

2

Orlando Gibbons

The silver swan, who, living had no note, When death approached unlocked her silent throat.

3

Andrew Lo

If troubled companies want to explain away 2008 as a 'black swan,' then someone should take responsibility for creating the oil slick that seems to have tarred the entire flock!

4

Michel Patini

We were the best team in the world: European champions in 1984, we qualified without a hitch and 86 was to be the swan song for a very experienced side.

5

Andre Leon Talley

In the heyday of the Oscars, there were electric sparks flying. When Cher went in her fabulous Bob Mackie dress and her Mohawk, and Bjoerk with her swan dress. Then we thought it was bad taste; now I think it should have been the best dress because she stood out.

6

Ty Warner

To this day, people are still talking about the Coral Casino's parties of the '30s, '40s, '50s - complete with antidotes of Errol Flynn's swan dives, Marlon Brando's secret cigar smoking spots, and Ester Williams' Aquacades.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SWAN»

Discover the use of swan in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to swan and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Swan Book:

The new novel by Alexis Wright, whose previous novel Carpentaria won the Miles Franklin Award and four other major prizes including the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year Award.

Alexis Wright, 2013

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

From the critically acclaimed author of Fooled by Randomness, a book about the impact of improbable events on every aspect of life.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, 2008

The Trumpet of the Swan

But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

E. B. White, 2000

Swan Song

In a nightmarish, post-holocaust world, an ancient evil roams a devastated America, gathering the forces of human greed and madness, searching for a child named Swan who possesses the gift of life.

Robert McCammon, 2009

The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly ...

In this revelatory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don’t know, and this second edition features a new philosophical and empirical essay, “On Robustness and Fragility,” which offers tools to navigate and exploit a ...

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, 2010

Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna

For many, "Great Swan" is Lex's greatest work -- a true classic.

Lex Hixon, 1997

Black Swan Green

It's a dank January in the Worcestershire village of Black Swan Green and thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor - covert stammerer and reluctant poet - anticipates a stultifying year in the deadest village on Earth.

David Mitchell, 2008

House: Black Swan Theory

Ordered according to scale (largest to smallest), the houses in this book span the globe, ranging from a secluded location in Hawaii to the Catskill Mountains of New York, to Martha's Vineyard, to The Hague in the Netherlands.

Steven Holl, 2007

Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other ...

" "The book is accompanied by a cassette and CD with authentic examples of the various accents described in the book."--BOOK JACKET.

Michael Swan, Bernard Smith, 2001

Inside Meaning Student's Book: Proficiency Reading Comprehension

This course provides a systematic and progressive approach to advanced reading skills, covering topics such as how to read a text, guessing unknown words, understanding complicated sentences, extracting main ideas and perception of the ...

Michael Swan, 1975

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SWAN»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term swan is used in the context of the following news items.

Thames Swan census expects rise in numbers for 2015

The number of swans on the River Thames recorded in the annual census is ... The Queen's Swan Marker, David Barber, said there had been an increase in air ... «BBC News, Jul 15»

Misty Copeland Is Promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet …

After she starred in “Swan Lake” with Ballet Theater last week — becoming the first African-American to do so with the company at the Met — the crowd of ... «New York Times, Jun 15»

Review: Misty Copeland Debuts as Odette/Odile in 'Swan Lake'

When Misty Copeland made her New York debut in the double role of Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake,” the most epic role in world ballet, two aspects of the ... «New York Times, Jun 15»

We Found Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris' Swan!

This isn't the first time the lucky swan has made an appearance. Four weeks ago, Harris posted a video of the swan having a slightly tougher night in the rain. «People Magazine, Jun 15»

Chrissie Swan doesn't want to know how much weight she lost in the …

Chrissie Swan doesn't want to know how much weight she lost in the jungle .... Swan's fellow celebrities lost substantial amounts of weight during their time in ... «NEWS.com.au, Mar 15»

Australian Open: Katie Swan reaches girls' final

Britain's Katie Swan staged a remarkable comeback to beat Hungary's Dalma Galfi and reach the Australian Open girls' final. The 15-year-old from Bristol saved ... «BBC Sport, Jan 15»

Unpaid Interns Win Major Ruling in 'Black Swan' Case — Now What?

The “Black Swan” case is one of three class-action lawsuits in recent years that have alleged wage violations by companies, and the first to result in a ruling; one ... «ProPublica, Jun 13»

Treasurer Wayne Swan's budget speech 2013

STRONGER ECONOMY, SMARTER NATION, FAIRER SOCIETY. Tonight this Labor government makes the choice to keep our economy strong and invest in our ... «Sydney Morning Herald, May 13»

Swan attacks 'reckless campaign' on budget deficit

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has attacked large sections of the media and the business community for talking up the size of the likely budget deficit. «ABC Online, Apr 13»

I have never used drugs, vows Swan

Swan was then reportedly called to a meeting with club chief executive Gary Pert, after which the club made the decision to discipline its Brownlow medallist. «The Age, Mar 13»