sweam

noun — 2 senses

sweam

noun

Etymology From Middle English sweem, sweme, swem (“a dizziness”), from Middle English swemen (“to feel faint, be overcome”), from Old English *swǣman (“to trouble, grieve”); and also from Old Norse sveimr (“a bustle, stir”), from Proto-Germanic *swaimaz (“a moving to and fro, a sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁- (“to sway, swing”). Cognate with Old Norse svími (“dizziness, fainting”) (Danish svime (“a swoon”)), Dutch zwijm (“a swoon, fainting fit”), Old English swīma (“vertigo, dizziness, a swoon”). More at swim.

1

Dialectal A swimming of the head; a fainting fit; a swoon.

2

Dialectal A sudden qualm of sickness.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.