swolwen

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old English swelgan,[1] from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą.

Notes on phonological development

The variation in the stem vowel of this verb has been explained in several ways. The OED posits that forms in /a/ and /ɔ/ continue the Old English past forms swealh and swolgen respectively, but such analogy is improbable and fails to explain the late attestation of forms with /a/.[2] Conversely, Jordan claims forms in /a/ are influenced by the noun swolwe, while those in /ɔ/ continue a Old English *swolgian;[3] however, there is no reason for supposing either that /a/ is more original in swolwe than in swolwen or that a *swolgian existed (the AB language has swolhen rather than the *swolhin that would be expected from it,[4][5] while Old English swolgettan can be a denominal formation from a Proto-Germanic *swulgiz, *swulgaz attested in Old Norse sylgr and Old Saxon swolg).[6][7]

More probably, the unique sequence /wɛlɣ/ (in very early Middle English /ˈswɛlɣiən/) developed to /wɔlɣ/ in Midland varieties;[4][5] forms in /a/ are more difficult to explain, but may reflect a further development of /ɔ/ to /a/ between /w/ and /lw/ (as evidenced by the spelling, the /ɑ~ɒ/ of modern English swallow is a secondary development from Middle English /a/).

Northern Middle English and Early Scots forms such as sweligh and swely[8] either show the influence of Old English ġeswelġe or, more likely, secondary epenthesis of a front vowel between /ɛl/ and historic /ɣ/[9] (compare Scots belly, bellies, fillie with English bellow, bellows, and felloe, and eerie, Ferryhill, and Scots harboury for a parallel development after /ɛr/).

Pronunciation

Verb

swolwen (third-person singular simple present swolweth, present participle swolwende, swolwynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle swolwed)

  1. (ambitransitive) To swallow; to cause to pass into the stomach.
  2. (transitive) To absorb or consume; to incorporate into:
  3. (transitive) To overcome, destroy, or extinguish.
  4. (intransitive) To gorge or gobble; to eat ravenously.
  5. (transitive, rare) To eat or nibble; to consume as food.

Usage notes

  • In Early Middle English, finite past forms continuing swealh, swulgon are sometimes found; these occasionally persist in later Middle English.

Conjugation

Conjugation of swolwen (weak in -ed or strong class 7)
infinitive (to) swolwen, swolwe
present tense past tense
1st-person singular swolwe swolwed
2nd-person singular swolwest swolwedest
3rd-person singular swolweth swolwed
subjunctive singular swolwe swolwed1
imperative singular —
plural3 swolwen, swolwe swolweden, swolwede
imperative plural swolweth, swolwe —
participles swolwynge, swolwende swolwed, swolwen, swolwe, yswolwed, yswolwen, yswolwe

1 Later replaced by the indicative.
2 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

  • English: swallow (dialectal swally)
  • Middle Scots: swelly, swellie, swallie

References

  1. ^ “swolwen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Swallow, v.”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IX, Part 2 (Su–Th), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 276, column 1.
  3. ^ Jordan, Richard (1974),  Eugene Crook, transl., Handbook of the Middle English Grammar: Phonology (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 218)‎[1], The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V., →DOI, § 34, page 59.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 d'Ardenne, S[imonne] R. T. O. (1961) [1936], “Glossary”, in Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene (Early English Text Society; 248), London: Oxford University Press for the Early English Text Society, →OCLC, page 93.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Zettersten, Arne (1965), “swolhen (inf.)”, in Studies in the dialect and vocabulary of the Ancrene Riwle (Lund Studies in English; 34)‎[2], Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup, →OCLC, page 124.
  6. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1963) [1934], “swolgėttan”, in Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Old English Etymological Dictionary] (in German), 2nd edition, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, →OCLC, page 339.
  7. ^ Seebold, Elmar (1970), “SWELG-A-”, in Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 85) (in German), Den Haag: Mouton, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 488
  8. ^ “swelly, (-i)e, swallow, v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
  9. ^ Aitken, A[dam] J., Macafee, Caroline, editors (2002), “Part One: Vowel Phonology of Scots to 1375”, in The Older Scots Vowels: A History of the Stressed Vowels of Older Scots from the Beginnings to the Eighteenth Century (Scottish Text Society, Fifth Series; 1), Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, § 6.3.1, page 24.
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