swarmn.
/swɔːm/, U.S. /swɔrm/ 1.
a. A body of bees which at a particular season leave the hive or main stock, gather in a compact mass or cluster, and fly off together in search of a new dwelling-place, under the guidance of a queen (or are transferred at once to a new hive).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > superfamily Apoidea (bees) > swarm of bees
swarmc725
stock1568
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) E 506 Examen, suearm.
a1100 Aldhelm Glosses i. 3821 in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) 101/2 Examen, .i. multitudo apium, swearm ad aluearium, to hyfen.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. 193 For neuere yet so þikke a swarm of ben Ne fleygh as Grekes gonne fro hym flen.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 7113 A swarm [Vesp. bike] of bes þar-in war bred.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 223 Þikke þowsandez..Fellen fro þe fyrmament,..Hurled in-to helle-hole as þe hyue swarmez.
c1412 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 3380 Do no cruelte vnto þe swarm, But mekely hem gouerne.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1039 His hyuys hauynge redy forto take His swarmys yonge.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxviiv If a swarme be cast late in the yere.
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. F2v He struck so sweetely on the bottome of his copper instrument, that he would emptie whole Hiues, and leade the swarmes after him only by the sound.
1677 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Oxford-shire 182 They can take swarms out of any stock that is able, and neglects to swarm, without any prejudice to the stock.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 86 When a hive sends out several swarms in the year, the first is always the best and the most numerous.
1817 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. xix. 166 A swarm seldom..takes place except when the sun shines and the air is calm.
1864 in Notes & Queries 3rd. Ser. VI. 493/2 A swarm of bees in May Is worth a load of hay. A swarm of bees in June Is worth a silver spoon. A swarm of bees in July Is not worth a butterfly.
1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 341 Each swarm contains not only the recently-hatched young bees, but also a portion of the old inhabitants.
b. allusively of persons who leave the original body and go forth to found a new colony or community.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > colonist or settler > [noun] > collectively
colony1555
plantation1636
swarm1659
settlement1697
settlerdom1863
1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) IV. 352 They are rather inferior than superior: but a swarm from you. You are the mother-hive. They are but a rib from your side.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. to Henry VII I. ii. 55 A new swarm of Danes came over this year [875].
1827 G. Higgins Celtic Druids 78 It is very probable that a great swarm from the hive bearing the name of Scythians may have arrived in Germany.
1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. & Impr. 213 The learned theory of Mr. H. Rashdall, that as Oxford was (or must have been) a swarm from Paris, so Cambridge was (or must have been) a swarm from Oxford.
2. A very large or dense body or collection; a crowd, throng, multitude. (Often contemptuous.)
a. of persons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > of people or animals > regarded as a whole or a body of people gathered > large or numerous
weredc725
herec855
heap971
trumec1380
multitudea1382
herda1400
swarm1423
confluence1447
puissance?a1475
army?1518
multitudine1547
bike1554
conflux1702
snarl1775
rallya1794
populace1823
hive1834
skreeda1838
skit1913
rort1941
1423 Kingis Quair clxv And euer I sawe a new[e] swarm [of folk] abound.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 291 There shall..come leapyng foorth whole swarmes, of bothe horsemen and footemen.
1549 J. Hooper Funerall Oratyon sig. Bvij As black is contrarye vnto whyte: and the catholycke churche of Christ, to the smerm [read swerm] nd multytude of Antichriste.
c1560 T. Becon Relikes of Rome sig. C.ii A swarme of Bishoppes, to the numbre..of .iii.C.
1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. Bv Farmers that crack barns, With stuffing corne, yet starue the needy swarmes.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Worc. 183/1 England in swarms did into Holland throng.
1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. New Test. 2 Cor. xi. 13 It's no wonder then if there be swarms of false Ministers, pretending to be the true Ministers of Christ.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 357 We saw what swarms of sects did rise up on our revolt from Rome.
1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 110 Beating from the wasted vines Back to France her banded swarms.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 310 The onset of a second son of the same dreaded chieftain, who would sweep down with new swarms of Gauls and Spaniards from the north.
b. of insects or other small creatures, esp. flying or moving about; †rarely of large animals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals collectively > [noun] > swarm
swarm1560
cloud1590
horde1613
skreeda1838
the world > life > biology > balance of nature > population > [noun] > type of
swarm1560
isotype1881
habitat group1898
guild1903
microcolony1925
thanatocœnosis1953
ecomorph1954
community1957
subpopulation1959
micropopulation1966
1560 Bible (Geneva) Exod. viii. 21 I wil send swarmes of flies bothe vpon thee, & vpon thy seruants.
a1569 A. Kingsmill Viewe Mans Estate (1580) xi. 73 There was fleshe enough to satisfie that swarme of adders, the Pharisees.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. i. 39 Great swarmes of tigres, which are very hurtfull both to man and beast.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. i. 51 Swarmes of a kinde of fowles of the bignes of duckes.
a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) i. x. 124 Locusts..in great swarms shall disperse themselves over the face of the whole earth.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 481 The wriggling fry soon fill the creeks around, Pois'ning the waters where their swarms abound.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 93 Many a night I saw the Pleiads,..Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid.
1914 Brit. Mus.: Return 197 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 186) LXXI. 193 A swarm of cockroaches..in a house at Chislehurst.
c. of inanimate objects or abstract things. spec. (a) of asteroids or meteors (cf. meteor swarm n. at meteor n.1 and adj.1 Compounds 2); (b) of earthquakes; cf. also dike-swarm n. at dike n.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > large or numerous
legiona1325
rout?c1335
multitudec1350
thrave1377
cloudc1384
schoola1450
meiniec1450
throng1538
ruckc1540
multitudine1547
swarm1548
regiment1575
armya1586
volley1595
pile1596
battalion1603
wood1608
host1613
armada1622
crowd1628
battalia1653
squadron1668
raffa1677
smytrie1786
raft1821
squash1884
1548 Princess Elizabeth & J. Bale tr. Queen Margaret of Angoulême Godly Medytacyon Christen Sowle f. 11 My synnes..are so many..that the infynyte swarme of them [etc.].
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. i. 55 This swarme of faire aduantages. View more context for this quotation
1684 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 2nd Pt. ii. 6 Upon this, came into her mind by swarms, all her unkind, unnatural, and ungodly Carriages to her dear Friend. View more context for this quotation
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 2 Such a swarm of Vessels of greater bulk.
1785 E. Burke Speech Nabob Arcot's Debts in Wks. (1842) I. 340 He is overpowered with a swarm of their demands.
1866 J. G. Whittier Snow-bound 33 A night made hoary with the swarm And whirl-dance of the blinding storm.
1890 Nature 20 Mar. 473/2 There are swarms of dust travelling thro' space.
1929 J. H. Jeans Universe around Us iv. 242 The asteroids occur as a single swarm.
1958 C. F. Richter Elem. Seismol. i. vi. 71 Certain localities are..visited by earthquake swarms, long series of large and small shocks with no one outstanding principal event. Such swarms are common in volcanic regions.
1959 Listener 30 July 172/2 The Trojans, whose mean distances from the Sun are the same as that of Jupiter, so that they lie far beyond the main swarm [of asteroids].
1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics iii. 105 Many swarms of meteors orbit the Sun and some periodically intersect the orbit of the Earth causing meteor showers.
1979 Nature 25 Oct. 661/1 Earthquake swarms, consisting of many earthquakes of nearly equal magnitude within a small area, often occur in areas of recent or current volcanic or tectonic activity.
1981 I. Ridpath Young Astronomer's Handbk. 197/1 At various times of the year, the Earth crosses the orbits of certain comets, encountering whole swarms of meteors.
d. Biology. A cluster of free-swimming cells or unicellular organisms moving in company.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > substance > cell > types of cells > [noun] > motile or amoebic cell > cluster of
nest1871
cell nest1873
swarm1900
macula densa1942
1900 in B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms
e. Ecology. = hybrid swarm n. at hybrid n. and adj. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animals collectively > [noun] > swarm > hybrid swarm
hybrid swarm1926
swarm1926
1926 Nature 30 Oct. 624/1 Where a specific name has been given to a smaller group within the swarm..we may adopt this name for the minor group.
1963 P. H. Davis & V. H. Heywood Princ. Angiosperm Taxon. xiv. 483 Hybrids..may even become established and form large swarms many miles from either parent.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (cf. swarm v.1 1c). (a) a motile spore in certain Algæ, Fungi, and Protozoa, a zoospore; (b) the free-swimming embryo or gemmule of freshwater sponges.
swarm-formation n.
ΚΠ
1946 Nature 21 Sept. 423/1 The most important biological attribute of an outbreak centre is to provide conditions for survival and multiplication of locusts at those times when their range of dispersal is at a minimum, and also to provide conditions necessary for an increase in that range of dispersal (by swarm-formation).
1953 J. S. Huxley Evol. in Action iii. 72 At least six species [of malaria-carrying mosquitoes] must be distinguished..some mating without swarm-formation, others requiring the stimulus of swarming.
C2.
swarm-cell n. Biology = swarm-spore n. (a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > reproductive substances or cells > [noun] > spore
sporule1819
zoocarp1824
zoospore1842
propagule1858
swarm-spore1859
macrozoospore1875
zygozoospore1881
swarm-cell1882
sporangiospore1889
planospore1904
planont1914
1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 38 Much quicker movements..occur in cells either before their growth, as in swarm-cells, or when it is nearly completed.
swarm-movement n. Biology the movement of swarm-spores in ‘swarming’ (swarm v.1 1c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > movement > [noun] > swarming
swarming1867
swarm-movement1898
1898 H. C. Porter tr. E. Strasburger et al. Text-bk. Bot. i. i. 50 The swarm-spores of the Myxomycetes soon lose this characteristic swarm-movement.
swarm-spore n. Biology
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > [noun] > free-swimming
swarm-spore1859
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > reproductive substances or cells > [noun] > spore
sporule1819
zoocarp1824
zoospore1842
propagule1858
swarm-spore1859
macrozoospore1875
zygozoospore1881
swarm-cell1882
sporangiospore1889
planospore1904
planont1914
1859 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom I. 42 Ciliated swarm spores, similar to those which are found in Spongilla.
1874 A. W. Bennett in Pop. Sci. Rev. XIII. 29 The production of spontaneously motile zoospores, or ‘swarm-spores’.
1880 C. E. Bessey Bot. 36 The swarm-spores..are naked masses of freely moving protoplasm.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1918; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
swarmv.1
/swɔːm/, U.S. /swɔrm/ 1.
a. intransitive. Of bees: To gather in a compact cluster and leave the hive in a body to found a new colony: see swarm n. 1. Also with off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [verb (intransitive)] > swarm (of bees)
swarmc1386
cast?1523
knit1577
warpa1824
c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Prol. 29 Right so as bees out swarmen [Corpus & Camb. MSS. swermen] from an hyue.
1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 19v Take hede to thy Bees, that be ready to swarme.
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie v. sig. E6 Those that swarme before the blowing of knap-weed, come in very good time.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 123 The youthful Prince, with loud allarm, Calls out the vent'rous Colony to swarm . View more context for this quotation
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. iv. 71 Ye see this is the second swarm, and whiles they will swarm off in the afternoon. The first swarm set off sune in the morning.
1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 502/1 It often happens that bees give every indication of an intention to swarm, and cluster idly outside the hive..for..weeks before they really emigrate.
b. allusively: cf. swarm n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > furnishing with inhabitants > migration > emigration > emigrate [verb (intransitive)]
transport?c1550
transplant1608
swarm1610
emigrate1782
out-migrate1953
1610 Bible (Douay) II. 2 Macc. i. 12 He made them swarme out of Persis.
1745 Season. Adv. Protest. 17 Protestants, who from a common Ancestor..have swarmed into many Stocks.
a1854 Ld. Cockburn Memorials (1856) vii. 464 Jealousies and dissensions..induced the artists to swarm off, and begin the Academy.
1909 J. T. Fowler in Yorks. Archæol. Jrnl. 20 1 The number of monks increased so rapidly that they were soon obliged to swarm off, like bees, into new monasteries of the same Order.
c. Biology. Of certain spores or reproductive bodies: To escape from the parent organism in a swarm, with characteristic movement; to move or swim about in a swarm, as zoospores (‘swarm-spores’) do in the cell just before escaping, and in the water after escaping.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > movement > [verb (intransitive)] > swarm
swarm1864
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > types of reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > others
pullulate1777
swarm1864
proliferate1890
1864 [implied in: Reader 30 Apr. 548/3 The swarming-spores of certain Algæ. (at swarming adj. 4)].
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 674 In Algæ of simple structure..the swarmspores are also formed in the night, but swarm only with access of daylight.
1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 232 In many of the more highly developed Thallophytes this power of motility is however limited to the male ‘swarming’ fertilising elements.
d. transitive in causative sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > bee-keeping > [verb (transitive)] > cause to swarm
swarm1827
1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie iv ‘Swarm your own hive’, returned the discontented bee-hunter.
2. intransitive. To come together in a swarm or dense crowd; to collect, assemble, or congregate thickly and confusedly; to crowd, throng; also, to go or move along in a crowd.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > move in a certain direction [verb (intransitive)] > move back and forth or come and go > in great numbers
swarmc1386
flocka1400
pour1574
troop1610
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > go or come out [verb (intransitive)] > in large numbers
swarm1513
spawn1760
to throw out1772
pile1896
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of people or animals > in large numbers
thringOE
threngc1175
crowda1400
flocka1400
swarm1526
growl1542
throngc1565
shoala1618
horde1801
bike1805
fry1816
hotch1893
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 181 Greet was the prees þat swarmeth to and fro To gauren on this hors that stondeth so.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid vi. v. 23 Thiddir to the bray swarmit all the rout Of deid gaistis.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxi. 30 All the cite was moved, and all the people swarmed togedder.
c1530 A. Barclay Egloges ii. sig. L If the dysshe be plesant,..Ten handes at onys swarme in the dysshe.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Kviiiv Al the people were swarmed furth into the stretes.
1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore i. i. 29 They swarme like Crickets to the creuice of a Brew-house.
1764 R. Burn Hist. Poor Laws 205 The religious houses sent abroad their friers mendicant, who swarmed about the kingdom.
1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) Concl. 173 The crowd were swarming now, To take their leave, about the garden rails.
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands iv. 126 The English were swarming out of this inn.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 233 The ideas swarming in men's minds.
3. To occur or exist in swarms or multitudes; to be densely crowded or congregated; to be very numerous, abound excessively. (Often in reproach or contempt, esp. when said of persons.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > abound [verb (intransitive)]
flowc1000
flower1340
abounda1350
redounda1382
swarm1399
walm1399
bound1568
pour1574
gush1577
exuberate1623
pullulate1641
hotter1860
resonate1955
1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles ii. 21 Signes þat swarmed so thikke Þoru-oute his lond..Þat [etc.].
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. liiii Their bodies whiche swarmed euery day about thenglishe shippes.
1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 47v Puddings euery wheare Do swarme.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. F When falshood swarmeth both in old and youth.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1641 (1955) II. 44 The Sectaries that swarm'd in this Citty.
a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 13 Arminians, Brownists, and Anabaptists, and Manists, do lurk here and also swarm.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. To Swarm..to abound, spoken of Vermin.
1745 E. Young Consolation 40 Bright Legions swarm unseen, and sing..The glorious Architect.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 239 Roman Catholics already swarmed in every department of the public service.
1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xv. 167 Native doctors swarm in Mongolia.
4. † b. Similarly, to swarm full of, to swarm in.
a. to swarm with: to be crowded or thronged with; to contain swarms or great numbers of; to abound greatly in. Now only in material sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > abound in or with > swarm with
wallc1000
to swarm in1482
wamble1485
scrawl1530
to swarm with1548
exceed1624
pullulate1641
sny1674
teem1710
spawn1818
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. xlvi The countree swarmed with men of warre.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. vii. 49 They that swarme with much greater vices.
a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV (1598) v. sig. I Oh what are subtile meanes to clime on high? When euery fall swarmes with exceeding shame?
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. iv. 48 Her holsome hearbs Swarming with caterpillers. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 400 Each Creek & Bay With Frie innumerable swarme. View more context for this quotation
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. xiii. 101 All kinds of Animals, with which the Creation swarms.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 484 A market-place swarming with buyers and sellers.
1893 W. Forbes-Mitchell Reminisc. Great Mutiny 269 The river swarmed with alligators.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > abound in or with > swarm with
wallc1000
to swarm in1482
wamble1485
scrawl1530
to swarm with1548
exceed1624
pullulate1641
sny1674
teem1710
spawn1818
1482 Monk of Evesham 40 The lenthe of that valey..was so full of fowyls, as hyues swarmyn ful of bees.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxxvj They shall not onely not take awaye theyr sectes, but increase and swarme in the same.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. (1634) ii. iii. 127 The soule..while it swarmeth full of such diseases of vices.
1708 F. Atterbury 14 Serm. 168 The Great Lords of the Earth, who swarm in all the Delights of Sense.
5. transitive. To fill or beset as, or with, a swarm; to crowd densely, throng. Chiefly passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > fill (a place) abundantly
fleetc1400
swarm1555
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > completely > as a crowd
swarm1555
throng1604
crowd1645
overswarm1851
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. xi. f. 152v The barbarians..came swarmyng the bankes on bothe sydes the ryuer, to the number of syxe thousande men.
1559 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Induct. lxxv The rout Gan all in heapes to swarme vs round about.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxii. vii Who on God his trust invokes With mercies shall be swarmed.
1648 R. Fanshawe tr. Virgil 4th Bk. Æneis in G. B. Guarini Il Pastor Fido (new ed.) 287 How did thy sences quayle Seeing the shoares so swarm'd.
1810 Sporting Mag. 35 8 Your house is so swarmed with rats.
1823 T. Moore Mem. (1853) IV. 121 Poor wretches, who marry upon the strength of this pied-à-terre, and swarm the little spot they occupy with children.
1847 Zoologist 5 1899 Brighton was swarmed with lady~birds on Saturday and Sunday.
1886 R. L. de Beaufort Lett. Geo. Sand I. 130 You will also see the towers of Notre Dame; they are swarmed with swallows.
6. To breed or produce a swarm of. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > produce or bring forth > with ease, speed, or success, or in large quantities > excessively or too easily
spawn1631
swarm1842
1842 Ld. Tennyson Will Waterproof's Monologue in Poems (new ed.) II. 192 Ere days, that deal in ana, swarm'd His [sc. the Poet's] literary leeches.
7. Skat. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1891 L. V. Diehl Skat 27 Swarming, giving as many points as possible on tricks taken by one's partner, or which he may be expected to take.
1893 ‘Hoffmann’ tr. A. Hertefeld Game of Skat 9 Swarming:—As tricks are valuable only for the scoring cards they contain, it is a frequent practice for one of the Opponents to play a high scoring card of another suit to a trick, in the hope that such trick be won by his partner. A card so played is said to be ‘swarmed’ upon the trick.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1918; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
swarmv.2
/swɔːm/, U.S. /swɔrm/ 1.
a. intransitive. To climb up (†upon) a pole, tree, or the like, by clasping it with the arms and legs alternately.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > ascend (something) [verb (transitive)] > climb up or scale > climb by clasping with legs and arms
climbc1275
swarm15..
grapple1598
swarvea1650
swarm1668
shin1891
leg1893
15.. Sir A. Barton in Surtees Misc. (1890) 72 Then he swarmd up the maine mast tree [cf. quot. a1650 at swarve v.2].
15.. Isumbras 351 (Douce 261, lf. 7) He swarued [c1550 (ed. Copland) swarmed] vp in to a tree Whyle ether of them myght other see.
1607 T. Dekker Knights Conjuring sig. B1v The waues..boylde vp to such heigth, as if they meant that all men should swarm in heauen, and shippes to sayle in the Skie.
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme iii. iv. §3 Swarming upon Trees as nimbly as Cats.
1701 C. Wooley Two Years Jrnl. N.-Y. 49 We followed a Bear from Tree to Tree, upon which he would swarm like a Cat.
1804 Naval Chron. 11 103 He swarms up to his seat.
1872 C. S. Calverley Fly Leaves 31 They fright me, when the beech is green, By swarming up its stem for eggs.
1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.-E. Afr. 433 I..could have swarmed up the branchless stem of the sapling.
b. transferred. To climb a steep ascent or the like by clinging with the hands and knees, or in some way compared to this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] > climb > by clasping with legs and arms
swerve?1606
swarve1614
swarm1681
shin1829
shinny1888
1681 C. Cotton Wonders of Peake (1699) 17 Having swarm'd sevenscore paces up,..you find a kind of Floor.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) ii. 15 The smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her—if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible—on his arms and legs.
1851 A. Helps Compan. Solitude vi. 109 People who are swarming up a difficult ascent.
1890 W. C. Russell Ocean Trag. II. xviii. 107 Onward she held her course, swarming steadily forward in long gliding curtseyings over each frothing surge.
2. transitive with the pole, etc. as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > ascend (something) [verb (transitive)] > climb up or scale > climb by clasping with legs and arms
climbc1275
swarm15..
grapple1598
swarvea1650
swarm1668
shin1891
leg1893
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues i. ii. vi. 207 Endowing them with such..Nimbleness in swarming of trees, as Apes..have now.
a1769 S. Johnson in Boswell Life Johnson (1831) IV. 451 Why, I can swarm it now, [replied Dr Johnson,..on which he ran to the tree, clung round the trunk, and ascended to the branches].
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 5 Like swarming the bannisters of a stair case.
1859 F. E. Paget Curate of Cumberworth 72 She rushed towards a clean-stemmed beech, apparently with the intention of swarming it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1918; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.c725v.1c1386
v.215..- to exclude out
- to excuse a person to be
- to excuse a thing to be
- to excuse oneself
- to excuse oneself that
- to excuse to be
- to execrate out
- to execute an estate
- to execute by the head
- to execute in effigy
- to execute to death
- to exercise the great horse
- to exert every nerve
- to exert oneself
- to exert pressure on
- to exhale oneself
- to exonerate nature
- to exonerate oneself
- to expand one's horizon
- to expand one's horizons
- to expect for
- to expect the extremity
- to expede letters
- to expel forth
- to expend with oneself