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Webster 1913 Edition

Swift

Swift

(swĭft)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Swifter
(swĭft′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Swiftest
.]
[AS.
swift
; akin to
swāpan
to sweep,
swipu
a whip; cf.
swīfan
to move quickly, to revolve. See
Swoop
,
Verb.
I.
, and cf.
Swivel
,
Squib
.]
1.
Moving a great distance in a short time; moving with celerity or velocity; fleet; rapid; quick; speedy; prompt.
My beloved brethren, let every man be
swift
to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
James i. 19.
Swift
of dispatch and easy of access.
Dryden.
And bring upon themselves
swift
destruction.
2 Pet. ii. 1.
2.
Of short continuance; passing away quickly.
Shak.
☞ Swift is often used in the formation of compounds which are generally self-explaining; as, swift-darting, swift-footed, swift-winged, etc.
Syn. – Quick; fleet; speedy; rapid; expeditious.

Swift

,
adv.
Swiftly.
[Obs. or Poetic]
Shak.
Ply
swift
and strong the oar.
Southey.

Swift

,
Noun.
1.
The current of a stream.
[R.]
Walton.
2.
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of small, long-winged, insectivorous birds of the family
Micropodidae
. In form and habits the swifts resemble swallows, but they are destitute of complex vocal muscles and are not singing birds, but belong to a widely different group allied to the humming birds.
☞ The common European swift (
Cypselus apus
syn.
Micropus apus
) nests in church steeples and under the tiles of roofs, and is noted for its rapid flight and shrill screams. It is called also
black martin
,
black swift
,
hawk swallow
,
devil bird
,
swingdevil
,
screech martin
, and
shriek owl
. The common American, or chimney, swift (
Chaetura pelagica
) has sharp rigid tips to the tail feathers. It attaches its nest to the inner walls of chimneys, and is called also
chimney swallow
. The Australian swift (
Chaetura caudacuta
) also has sharp naked tips to the tail quills. The European Alpine swift (
Cypselus melba
) is whitish beneath, with a white band across the breast. The common Indian swift is
Cypselus affinis
. See also
Palm swift
, under
Palm
, and
Tree swift
, under
Tree
.
3.
(Zool.)
Any one of several species of lizards, as the pine lizard.
4.
(Zool.)
The ghost moth. See under
Ghost
.
5.
[Cf.
Swivel
.]
A reel, or turning instrument, for winding yarn, thread, etc.; – used chiefly in the plural.
6.
The main card cylinder of a flax-carding machine.

Webster 1828 Edition

Swift

SWIFT

, a.
1.
Moving a great distance or over a large space in a short time; moving with celerity or velocity; fleet; rapid; quick; speedy. We say, soft winds, a swift stream, swift lightnings, swift motion, swift as thought, a fowl swift of wing, a man swift of foot. Swift is applicable to any kind of motion.
2.
Ready; prompt.
Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. James 1.
3.
Speedy; that comes without delay.
There shall be false teachers among you, who shall privily bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Pet.2.

SWIFT

,
Noun.
The current of a stream. [Little used.]
1.
In domestic affairs, a reel or turning instrument for winding yarn. [This is a sense directly from the Saxon verb.]
2.
A bird, a species of swallow, so called from the rapidity of its flight.
3.
The common newt or eft, a species of lizard.

Definition 2024

Swift

Swift

See also: swift and SWIFT

English

Proper noun

Swift

  1. A surname​, originally a nickname for a swift or quick person.
  2. (computing) A general-purpose multi-paradigm compiled programming language introduced by Apple Inc. in 2014.
    • 2014 June 5, John Timmer, “A fast look at Swift, Apple’s new programming language”, in Ars Technica:
      If anyone outside Apple saw Swift coming, they certainly weren't making any public predictions.
    • 2015 December 14, Steve Lohr, “Stephen Wolfram Aims to Democratize His Software”, in New York Times:
      Apple has made its Swift programming tools open source, Google opened up its TensorFlow machine-learning software, and IBM did the same with its SystemML.
    • 2016 September 13, Natasha Singer, “Apple Offers Free App to Teach Children Coding (iPads Sold Separately)”, in New York Times:
      Unlike some children’s apps, which employ drag-and-drop blocks to teach coding, the Apple program uses Swift, a professional programming language that the company introduced in 2014.

Derived terms

External links

swift

swift

See also: Swift and SWIFT

English

Adjective

swift ‎(comparative swifter, superlative swiftest)

  1. Fast; quick; rapid.
    • 2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:
      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.
  2. Capable of moving at high speeds.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

swift ‎(plural swifts)

  1. (obsolete) The current of a stream.
  2. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.
  3. Some lizards of the genus Sceloporus.
  4. A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.
    • 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 206-7:
      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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Derived terms

See also

Adverb

swift ‎(comparative more swift, superlative most swift)

  1. (obsolete, poetic) Swiftly.

Synonyms

Old English

Etymology

From the verb swīfan

Adjective

swift

  1. swift

Descendants

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /swɪft/
  • Homophone: Swift
  • Rhymes: -ɪft

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