swallow

Etymology 1

From Middle English swolowen, swolwen, swolȝen, swelwen, swelȝen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill. The noun is from Middle English swelwe, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).

verb

1. (transitive) To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.
   Clothes are to be worn and food is to be swallowed: they remain trapped in the physical world. 21 Apr 2011, Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
2. (transitive) To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.
   The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time.
   His body, like so many others swallowed by the ocean's hungry maw, was never found. 28 Oct 2010, “What are the wild waves saying”, in The Economist
   Elsewhere still, they'd managed to find the wreck of a Japanese midget submarine, and so, when the battleships were done being swallowed by the seabed, some efforts were being made to haul this up as well. 11 November 2020, Drachinifel, 25:13 from the start, in The Salvage of Pearl Harbor Pt 1 - The Smoke Clears, archived from the original on 2022-10-22
3. (intransitive) To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion.
   My throat was so sore that I was unable to swallow.
   She swallowed nervously then, appearing near sick with what she had to say. 1979, VC Andrews, Flowers in the Attic
4. (transitive) To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept.
   this humbug was readily swallowed by men who were supposed to be intelligent, 1920, Romain Rolland, translated by Katherine Miller, Clerambault
   Most newspapers we saw swallowed whole an S.R. estimate that it would cost £20m to equip the Region with point heaters. 1962 March, “Lessons of the Freeze-up”, in Modern Railways, page 146
   Americans swallowed his tale because they wanted to. 22 Apr 2011, Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
5. (intransitive) To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.
6. (transitive) To retract; to recant.
   to swallow one's opinions
7. (transitive) To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.
   to swallow an affront or insult

noun

1. (archaic) A deep chasm or abyss in the earth.
2. (archaic) The mouth and throat; that which is used for swallowing; the gullet.
   The door burst wide open, and he saw nothing but a gaping jaw extending from the threshold up to the lintel. "There is a mouthful for you," said the youngster, and threw the pauper boy into the swallow; "taste that! But let me see now who you are! Perhaps you are an old acquaintance?" And so it was; it was the devil who was about again. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 103
3. The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing.
   He took the aspirin with a single swallow of water.
   She took a swallow of milk and made a face. "This milk is blinky." 1978, Tom Reamy, Blind Voices
4. (nautical) The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes.
   In addition, j-lock shackles can pass through the swallow of a modern genoa track even with a sheet in tension already there, and this is very useful when preparing a sail change on the same tack. 2008, Danilo Fabbroni, Rigging: Rig Your Boat Right for Racing or Cruising
   Blocks are made in a great variety of patterns. All are designed to be used one way. The rope goes through the swallow. 2012, Percy W. Blandford, Practical Knots and Ropework, page 350
   When specifying blocks, excessive friction is avoided by ensuring (a) that the diameter of the sheave is at least twice the circumference of the rope or six times its diameter (preferably more), and (b) that the 'swallow' of the block is substantially wider than the diameter of the rope, to avoid rubbing against the inside of the cheeks. 2012, H.G. Hasler, J.K. McLeod, Practical Junk Rig, page 171
5. (Nigeria) Any of various carbohydrate-based dishes that are swallowed without much chewing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English swalwe, swalewe, swalowe, from Old English swealwe, from Proto-West Germanic *swalwā, from Proto-Germanic *swalwǭ. Cognate with Danish and Norwegian svale, Dutch zwaluw, German Schwalbe, Swedish svala.

noun

1. A small, migratory bird of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and a forked tail which feeds on the wing by catching insects.