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illustration Swain

Swain

[sweyn]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: Old Norse, 14th century

1.

A young lover or suitor.

2.

A country youth.

Examples of Swain in a sentence

"The eager swain showed up at her door with a bouquet of flowers to ask her to prom."

"He didn’t often leave the farm, but the swain went into town for supplies once a month."

About Swain

It’s an old-fashioned term for a beau, boyfriend, or suitor. While the term isn’t used much these days, we highly recommend introducing your new boyfriend as your swain — the charming moniker might win over mom and dad.

Did you Know?

In Old Norse, “sveinn” meant boy, or servant. Old English adopted swain to describe the young man attending a knight. It picked up a few more definitions over the years, with swain meaning a country youth, and then a gentleman suitor. The courting version stuck around in romantic literature.

illustration Swain

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