swift

Etymology

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.

adj

1. Fast; quick; rapid.
   Spain were provoked into a response and Villa almost provided a swift equaliser when he rounded Hart but found the angle too acute and could only hit the side-netting. November 12, 2011, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport
2. Capable of moving at high speeds.

noun

1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.
2. Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.
   , spiny lizard
   As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards. 1965 March, Boys' Life, page 52
3. (entomology) A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.
4. (entomology) Any of various fast-flying hesperiid butterflies.
   Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them. 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7
5. (textiles) A light, collapsible reel used to hold a hank of yarn in order to wind off skeins or balls.
6. The main cylinder of a carding-machine.
7. (obsolete) The current of a stream.

adv

1. (obsolete, poetic) Swiftly.
   Ply swift and strong the oar. 1793, Robert Southey, Lord William