swing

Etymology

From Middle English swyngen, from Old English swingan, from Proto-Germanic *swinganą (compare Low German swingen, German schwingen, Dutch zwingen, Swedish svinga), from Proto-Indo-European *sweng- (compare Scottish Gaelic seang (“thin”)). Related to swink.

verb

1. (intransitive) To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.
   The plant swung in the breeze.
   The starliner swung into orbit around the planet Coruscant, and beyond the observation bubble appeared a glittering expanse of a billion golden lights. Through a thousand centuries of strife, those lights continued to shine. 29 February 2012, Troy Denning, Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse, Random House, page 3
2. (intransitive) To dance.
3. (intransitive) To ride on a swing.
   The children laughed as they swung.
4. (intransitive) To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wife-swapping.
5. (intransitive) To hang from the gallows; to be punished by hanging, swing for something or someone; (often hyperbolic) to be severely punished.
   “It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!” Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. 1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Red-Headed League
6. (intransitive, cricket, of a ball) To move sideways in its trajectory.
7. (transitive, cricket) (of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways in its trajectory.
8. (intransitive) To fluctuate or change.
   It wasn't long before the crowd's mood swung towards restless irritability.
9. (transitive) To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave.
   He swung his sword as hard as he could.
10. (transitive) To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election.
11. (transitive) To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially.
    If it’s not too expensive, I think we can swing it.
12. (transitive, music) To play notes that are in pairs by making the first of the pair slightly longer than written (augmentation) and the second shorter, resulting in a bouncy, uneven rhythm.
13. (transitive and intransitive, boxing) To move one's arm in a punching motion.
14. (transitive) In dancing, to turn around in a small circle with one's partner, holding hands or arms.
    "to swing one's partner", or simply "to swing"
15. (transitive, engineering) To admit or turn something for the purpose of shaping it; said of a lathe.
    The lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.
16. (transitive, carpentry) To put (a door, gate, etc.) on hinges so that it can swing or turn.
17. (nautical) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor.
    A ship swings with the tide.
18. To turn in a different direction.
    Soon after departure, we cross the invisible border into Scotland to enjoy more stunning coastal scenery, before the line finally swings inland at Burnmouth to traverse pine-clad valleys, shadowed by the A1 trunk road until we rejoin the coast at Cove, east of Dunbar. November 30 2022, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75

noun

1. The manner in which something is swung.
   He worked tirelessly to improve his golf swing.
   Door swing indicates direction the door opens.
   the swing of a pendulum
   Improve your golf swing by taking your mate to the driving range. If you're good, you can show off and give her some tips. If you stink, play it for laughs. 2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135
2. The sweep or compass of a swinging body.
3. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing.
4. A hanging seat that can swing back and forth, in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing.
5. A dance style.
6. An energetic and acrobatic late-1930s partner-based dance style, also known as jitterbug and lindy-hop.
7. (music) The genre of music associated with this dance style.
   It makes no diff'rence / if it's sweet or hot. / Just give that rhythm / ev'rything you've got! / It don't mean a thing / if it ain't got that swing. 1931, “It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”, Irving Mills (lyrics), Duke Ellington (music), performed by Ivie Anderson with Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, Brunswick, catalog number 6265
8. The amount of change towards or away from something.
   Miss Pole came round with a swing to as vehement a belief in the sorrowful tale as she had been sceptical before […] 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford
   1. (politics) In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party.
      The polls showed a wide swing to Labour.
9. (cricket) Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air.
10. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.
11. In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles.
12. A basic dance step in which a pair link hands and turn round together in a circle.
13. The maximum amount of change that has occurred or can occur; the sum of the maximum changes in any direction.
    Jesus' finishing has been one of the main concerns - since the start of last season the 23-year-old has underperformed his Premier League expected goals tally by 6.97goals (in short, he has scored seven fewer goals than would be expected from the chances presented to him). In contrast, Haaland is overperforming by 6.83 goals since joining Dortmund, which is almost a 14-goal swing between the pair. 4 February 2021, Raj Chohan, “Erling Braut Haaland: Would Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd or Chelsea suit striker best?”, in BBC Sport
14. (obsolete) Free course; unrestrained liberty.
    To prevent anything which may prove an obstacle on the full swing of his genius. 1788, Edmund Burke, speech in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
15. Influence or power of anything put in motion.
16. (boxing) A type of hook with the arm more extended.