Swallow-tailed duck (Zoöl.), the old squaw. -- Swallow-tailed gull
(Zoöl.), an Arctic gull (Xema furcata), which has a deeply forked tail.
-- Swallow-tailed hawk or kite (Zoöl.), the fork- tailed kite. --
Swallow-tailed moth (Zoöl.), a European moth (Urapteryx sambucaria)
having tail-like lobes on the hind wings.
Swal"low*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) See Celandine. (b) A poisonous plant
(Vincetoxicum officinale) of the Milkweed family, at one time used in
medicine; -- also called white swallowwort.
African swallowwort, a plant of the genus Stapelia.
Swam (?), imp. of Swim.
Swamp (?), n. [Cf. AS. swam a fungus, OD. swam a sponge, D. zwam a
fungus, G. schwamm a sponge, Icel. svöppr, Dan. & Sw. swamp, Goth.
swamms, Gr. somfo`s porous, spongy.] Wet, spongy land; soft, low ground
saturated with water, but not usually covered with it; marshy ground
away from the seashore.
Gray swamps and pools, waste places of the hern.
Tennyson.
A swamp differs from a bog and a marsh in producing trees and
shrubs, while the latter produce only herbage, plants, and mosses.
Farming Encyc. (E. Edwards, Words).
Swamp blackbird. (Zoöl.) See Redwing (b). -- Swamp cabbage (Bot.),
skunk cabbage. -- Swamp deer (Zoöl.), an Asiatic deer (Rucervus
Duvaucelli) of India. -- Swamp hen. (Zoöl.) (a) An Australian
azure-breasted bird (Porphyrio bellus); -- called also goollema. (b) An
Australian water crake, or rail (Porzana Tabuensis); -- called also
little swamp hen. (c) The European purple gallinule. -- Swamp
honeysuckle (Bot.), an American shrub (Azalea, or Rhododendron,
viscosa) growing in swampy places, with fragrant flowers of a white
color, or white tinged with rose; -- called also swamp pink. -- Swamp
hook, a hook and chain used by lumbermen in handling logs. Cf. Cant
hook. -- Swamp itch. (Med.) See Prairie itch, under Prairie. -- Swamp
laurel (Bot.), a shrub (Kalmia glauca) having small leaves with the
lower surface glaucous. -- Swamp maple (Bot.), red maple. See Maple. --
Swamp oak (Bot.), a name given to several kinds of oak which grow in
swampy places, as swamp Spanish oak (Quercus palustris), swamp white
oak (Q. bicolor), swamp post oak (Q. lyrata). -- Swamp ore (Min.), bog
ore; limonite. -- Swamp partridge (Zoöl.), any one of several
Australian game birds of the genera Synoicus and Excalfatoria, allied
to the European partridges. -- Swamp robin (Zoöl.), the chewink. --
Swamp sassafras (Bot.), a small North American tree of the genus
Magnolia (M. glauca) with aromatic leaves and fragrant creamy-white
blossoms; -- called also sweet bay. -- Swamp sparrow (Zoöl.), a common
North American sparrow (Melospiza Georgiana, or M. palustris), closely
resembling the song sparrow. It lives in low, swampy places. -- Swamp
willow. (Bot.) See Pussy willow, under Pussy.
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Swamp (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swamped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Swamping.]
1. To plunge or sink into a swamp.
2. (Naut.) To cause (a boat) to become filled with water; to capsize or
sink by whelming with water.
3. Fig.: To plunge into difficulties and perils; to overwhelm; to ruin;
to wreck.
The Whig majority of the house of Lords was swamped by the creation
of twelve Tory peers.
J. R. Green.
Having swamped himself in following the ignis fatuus of a theory.
Sir W. Hamilton.
Swamp, v. i. 1. To sink or stick in a swamp; figuratively, to become
involved in insuperable difficulties.
2. To become filled with water, as a boat; to founder; to capsize or
sink; figuratively, to be ruined; to be wrecked.
Swamp"y (?), a. Consisting of swamp; like a swamp; low, wet, and
spongy; as, swampy land.
Swan (?), n. [AS. swan; akin to D. zwaan, OHG. swan, G. schwan, Icel.
svanr, Sw. svan, Dan. svane; and perhaps to E. sound something
audible.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of large aquatic birds
belonging to Cygnus, Olor, and allied genera of the subfamily Cygninæ.
They have a large and strong beak and a long neck, and are noted for
their graceful movements when swimming. Most of the northern species
are white. In literature the swan was fabled to sing a melodious song,
especially at the time of its death.
The European white, or mute, swan (Cygnus gibbus), which is most
commonly domesticated, bends its neck in an S-shaped curve. The
whistling, or trumpeting, swans of the genus Olor do not bend the neck
in an S-shaped curve, and are noted for their loud and sonorous cry,
due to complex convolutions of the windpipe. To this genus belong the
European whooper, or whistling swan (Olor cygnus), the American
whistling swan (O. Columbianus), and the trumpeter swan (O.
buccinator). The Australian black swan (Chenopis atrata) is dull black
with white on the wings, and has the bill carmine, crossed with a white
band. It is a very graceful species and is often domesticated. The
South American black-necked swan (Sthenelides melancorypha) is a very
beautiful and graceful species, entirely white, except the head and
neck, which are dark velvety seal-brown. Its bill has a double bright
rose-colored knob.
2. Fig.: An appellation for a sweet singer, or a poet noted for grace
and melody; as Shakespeare is called the swan of Avon.