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swinge

verb

  1. to singe, scorch
L1385317 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /swɪnd͡ʒ/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English swengen (“to strike”), from Old English swenġan (“to dash, strike; to cause to swing”), from Proto-West Germanic *swangijan (“to cause to swing”).

  1. A swinging blow.
  2. Power; sway; influence.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English swengen (“to strike”), from Old English swenġan (“to dash, strike; to cause to swing”), from Proto-West Germanic *swangijan (“to cause to swing”).

  1. To singe.

    “The scorching flame fore swinged all his face”

  2. To move like a lash; to lash.

    “Th' old Dragon underground / In ſtraiter limits bound, / Not half ſo far caſts his uſurped ſvvay, / And vvrath to ſee his Kingdom fail, / Svvindges the ſcaly Horrour of his foulded tail.”

  3. To strike hard.

    “For certaine words he ſpake againſt your Grace / In your retirment, I had ſwing'd him ſoundly.”

    “Sir Fee[ble]. 'Tis—Jealouſie, the old VVorm that bites— [Aſide] VVho is it you ſuſpect? / Sir Cau[tious]. Alas I knovv not vvhom to ſuſpect, I vvou'd I did; but if you cou'd diſcover him—I vvou'd ſo ſvvinge him.—”

  4. To chastise; to beat.

    “O, the passion of God, so I shall be swinged. / So, my bones shall be bangedǃ / The porridge pot is stolenː what, Lob, say, / Come away, and be hangedǃ”