swart

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See also: Swart

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /swɔː(ɹ)t/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /swɔɹt/
  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English swart, from Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz, from Proto-Indo-European *swerd-.

Adjective[edit]

swart (comparative swarter, superlative swartest)

  1. Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny.
    • 1400s: Thomas Occleve, Hymns to the Virgin
      Men schalle then sone se / Att mydday hytt shalle swarte be
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
      A nation strange, with visage swart
    • c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
      Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,
    • 1637, John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
      Of shades , and wanton winds , and gushing brooks ,
      On whose fresh lap the swart - star sparely looks
    • 1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, act II, scene I, verses 91-92:
      I'll choose a gaoler, whose swart monstrous face
      Shall be a hell to look upon […]
    • 1836, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Old Ticonderoga:
      The merry soldiers footing it with the swart savage maids
    • 1905, Samuel Major Gardenhire, The Silence of Mrs. Harrold - Page 277:
      The keeping eunuchs were at back, solemn in stately rows, bespeared and bescimitared, the Danish, Irish, and German of their countenances lost in the daub which made them swart.
    • 1925, Ezra Pound, Canto I:
      […] unpierced ever
      With glitter of sun rays
      Nor with stars stretched, nor looking back from heaven
      Swartest night stretched over wretched men there.
  2. (UK dialectal) Black. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  3. (obsolete) Gloomy; malignant.
    • 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods‎[1], London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 4:
      Suddenly the swart figure of Time stood up before the gods, with both hands dripping with blood and a red sword dangling idly from his fingers, and said: “Sardathrion is gone! I have overthrown it!”
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

swart

  1. (UK dialectal) Black or dark dyestuff.
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English swarten, from Old English sweartian, from Proto-West Germanic *swartōn, from Proto-Germanic *swartōną. By surface analysis, swart +‎ -en.

Verb[edit]

swart (third-person singular simple present swarts, present participle swarting, simple past and past participle swarted)

  1. (transitive) To make swart or tawny; blacken; tan.
    to swart a living part
    • 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica:
      […] the heate of the Sun, whose fervor may swarte a living part, and even black a dead or dissolving flesh,

Etymology 3[edit]

Variant of sward.

Noun[edit]

swart (uncountable)

  1. Obsolete spelling of sward
    • 1587, Raphael Holinshed, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland‎[2]:
      Howbeit where the rocks and quarrie grounds are, I take the swart of the earth to be so thin, that no tree of anie greatnesse, other than shrubs and bushes, is able to grow or prosper long therein for want of sufficient moisture wherewith to feed them with fresh humour, or at the leastwise of mould […]

Etymology 4[edit]

Noun[edit]

swart (plural swarts)

  1. (IE dialectal) Variant of swath.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch zwart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

swart (attributive swart, comparative swarter, superlative swartste)

  1. black (colour of objects)
  2. Black (classification of people)

Antonyms[edit]

German Low German[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German swart, from Old Saxon swart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /swart/, /swaːt/, /svaːt/
  • IPA(key): /zwart/, /zwaːt/
  • IPA(key): /swat/, /svat/

Adjective[edit]

swart (comparative swärter, superlative swärtst)

  1. black

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of swart
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is swart se is swart dat is swart se sünd swart
partitive een swarts een swarts wat swarts allens swart
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative swarte swarte swart swarte
oblique swarten swarte swart swarte
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de swarte de swarte dat swarte de swarten
oblique den swarten de swarte dat swarte de swarten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en swarte/swarten en swarte en swart/swartet (keen) swarten
oblique en swarten en swarte en swart/swartet (keen) swarten
Comparative forms of swart
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is swärter se is swärter dat is swärter se sünd swärter
partitive een swärters een swärters wat swärters allens swärter
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative swärtere swärtere swärter swärtere
oblique swärtern swärtere swärter swärtere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de swärtere de swärtere dat swärtere de swärtern
oblique den swärtern de swärtere dat swärtere de swärtern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en swärtere/swärteren en swärtere en swärter (keen) swärtern
oblique en swärtern en swärtere en swärter (keen) swärtern
Superlative forms of swart
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is de Swärtste se is de Swärtste dat is dat Swärtste se sünd de Swärtsten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative swärtste swärtste swärtst swärtste
oblique swärtsten swärtste swärtst swärtste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative de swärtste de swärtste dat swärtste de swärtsten
oblique den swärtsten de swärtste dat swärtste de swärtsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative en swärtste/swärtsten en swärtste en swärtst (keen) swärtsten
oblique en swärtsten en swärtste en swärtst (keen) swärtsten
Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

swart

  1. Romanization of 𐍃𐍅𐌰𐍂𐍄

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Dutch swart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Adjective[edit]

swart

  1. black

Inflection[edit]

Adjective
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative Indefinite swart swarte swart swarte
Definite swarte swarte
Accusative Indefinite swarten swarte swart swarte
Definite swarte
Genitive swarts swarter swarts swarter
Dative swarten swarter swarten swarten

Descendants[edit]

  • Dutch: zwart
  • Limburgish: zwart
  • West Flemish: zwort

Further reading[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz; compare Middle Dutch swart, Middle Low German swart, Middle High German swarz.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

swart (plural and weak singular swarte, comparative swarter)

  1. Dark, oppressive, blackened.
  2. Black; swart.
    1. Black-skinned, swarthy; having dark skin.
    2. (rare) Bruised, heavily wounded.
  3. (rare) Evil, malign.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Adjective[edit]

swart

  1. black

Declension[edit]

Positive forms of swart
Strong declension
gender masculine feminine neuter
case singular plural singular plural singular plural
nominative swart swarte, swarta swart swarta swart swart, swarta
accusative swartan, swarten swarta, swarte swarta swarta swart swart, swarta
genitive swartes, swartas swartaro, swartoro, swartero swartara, swartaro swartaro, swartoro, swartero swartes, swartas swartaro, swartoro, swartero
dative swartumu, swartum, swartun, swartun, swarton, swarten, swartan swartun, swarton, swartum swartaro, swartaru, swartara swartun, swarton swartumu, swartum, swartun, swartun, swarton, swarten, swartan swartun, swarton, swartum
Weak declension
gender masculine feminine neuter
case singular plural singular plural singular plural
nominative swarto, swarta swarton, swartun swarta, swarte swarton, swartun, swartan swarta, swarte swarton, swartun
accusative swarton, swartan swarton, swartun swartun, swarton, swartan swarton, swartun, swartan swarta, swarte swarton, swartun
genitive swarten, swartan swartono, swarteno swartun, swartan, swarten swartono swarten, swartan swartono, swarteno
dative swarton, swarten, swartan swarton, swartun swartun, swartan swarton, swartun swarton, swarten, swartan swarton, swartun


Descendants[edit]

Scots[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English swart, from Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Noun[edit]

swart (plural swarts)

  1. Black or dark dyestuff.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse svartr.

Adjective[edit]

swart (comparative mair swart, superlative maist swart)

  1. Black; swarthy.
Derived terms[edit]

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian swart, swert, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz.

Adjective[edit]

swart

  1. black

Inflection[edit]

Inflection of swart
uninflected swart
inflected swarte
comparative swarter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial swart swarter it swartst
it swartste
indefinite c. sing. swarte swartere swartste
n. sing. swart swarter swartste
plural swarte swartere swartste
definite swarte swartere swartste
partitive swarts swarters —

Further reading[edit]

  • “swart (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Noun[edit]

swart n (plural swarten)

  1. black

See also[edit]

Colors in West Frisian · kleuren (layout · text)
     wyt      griis      swart
             read              oranje; brún              giel
                          grien             
             blaugrien                           blau
             fiolet              pears              rôze

Further reading[edit]

  • “swart (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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