Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To toil; labor; drudge; slave.
- To cause to toil or drudge; tire with labor; overlabor.
- n. Toil; labor; drudgery.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. Obs. or Archaic To labor; to toil; to salve.
- v. obsolete To cause to toil or drudge; to tire or exhaust with labor.
- v. obsolete To acquire by labor.
- n. obsolete Labor; toil; drudgery.
Etymologies
- From Old English swincan. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The rural afternoon, especially, when he smoked and grubbed and divagated as he pleased, was alone enough to make the five-and-twenty years of "swink" worth while.”
“Hmmm..wel, iffen ai cuvver wun eye an kinda swink wif teh uvver eye….nope ur owtfit iz stil uglee.”
Canz you pleez be more quiet? - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“And if thou mayst not, then may we find somewhat to swink at for a wage, and so maintain thee and us.”
“Full fair was the morrow morn, and Birdalone arose betimes before the sun was up, and she thought she would make of this a holiday before the swink afield began again, since the witch was grown good toward her.”
“Described as the swink vote, perhaps occasionally as a fence sitter -- but I certainly don't hear that very often -- and also as a moderate, would you agree with the assessment?”
“Therefore swink and sweat all that thou canst and mayst for to get thee”
“Then said I to myself, "Now is my opportunity," and taking a knife I had with me, that would cut bones before flesh, went down to them and found them motionless, not a muscle of them moving for their much swink.”
“We poor wives must swink for our masters, while they sit in their arm-chairs growing as great in the girth through laziness as that ill-mannered fat man William hath writ of in his books of players 'stuff.”
“It's seriously swink or swim for the guy and he's dead set on not sinking no matter how poor he has looked this spring.”
“The gentleman answered that he would well, and accordingly, drawing his hanger, he did as she had enjoined him, with a face all afire what with the swink he had furnished and with anger at the husband's return.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘swink’.
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phrontistery-s
from phrontistery.info
sabaton, sabbatarian, sabbulonarium, sabelline, sabin, sable, sabliere, sabot, sabretache, sabulous, saburration, saccade and 1593 more...
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miltonic
liberty, froth-becurlèd, host, huge-bellied, aghast, rills, gladsom, wrathfull, ordain, thunder-clasping, ruddy, warble and 264 more...
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Archaic
Because they just don't make 'em like they used to.
comeling, circuition, assentment, advisement, accompts, apertness, larum, soothfastness, deperdition, marish, covin, tinct and 166 more...
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learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1381 more...
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use•ful
palmary, glossolalia, bothum, high-proof, synesthesia, odious, autochthonous, yawp, mordacious, dynamo, dishevel, titely and 414 more...
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fbharjo's Words
jumelle, kef, kenspeckle, lautitious, essentic, pilpulistic, impavid, cicurant, clou, chrysostomic, miasma, teleology and 1625 more...
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Look Busy
Get to work!
ergophobia, elucubrate, karoshi, dogsbody, forswonk, moil, deft, assiduous, panurgic, paperasserie, bumf, blackleg and 91 more...
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Baron Luke's Collection
An assortment of words, which, when used, should inject some vibrancy into your day, hopefully expunging any ennui!
expunge, cogitate, elucidate, post-haste, rebarbative, recalcitrant, smite, absquatulate, forlorn, thole, nefarious, insubordination and 124 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3250 more...
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Old words that deserve revival
anywhen, batten, bedswerver, blashy, brightsome, bub, busk, canty, chuff, croodle, cumberworld, draggle and 42 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for swink.
whichbe (n) labor, toil
(v) to labor, toil, work hard; to exert oneself, take trouble
May 13, 2008