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swien

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Swien

Middle English

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Etymology

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From Old English swigian.

Verb

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swīen

  1. to be silent, to refrain from speaking or making sound

Usage notes

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  • Not to be confused with sweien (make a sound), with which it was homophonous by the 13th century.[1]

Alternative forms

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References

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  1. ^ Edna Rees Williams, The Conflict of Homonyms in English (1944), page 100