Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Swimming, vbl. n. Also: swiming, suiming, swymmyng, swymyn, sweeming, swoming, -yng, suowming, summing. [ME and e.m.E. swymmynge (Piers Plowman), swymynge (a1513), swimming (1556); Swim v.]

1. The action of swimming; swimming as a learned activity or skill. Also of animals or birds. 1375 Barb. iii 433.
Swa with swymmyng and with rowyng Thai brocht thaim our and all thar thing 1494 Loutfut MS 130a.
Were men … knaw the craft of swymyn [Lindsay MS suowming] 1531 Bell. Boece II 177.
Sum of thaim perist in the river; otheris, be craft of swoming, wer savit 1533 Bell. Livy II 99/9.
Vthiris that war crafty in swomyng war sa sare woundit … that thai drownit in the streme 1587-99 Hume 159/117.
Al games and exercitions of the body, aswell these that are naturall vnto man, as in these which needes art and instruction, as summing [etc.] 1600-1610 Melvill 139.
Jhone Durie's horse lyes down in the water, and committes his rydar to swoming with the stream 1630-1651 Gordon Geneal. Hist. 97.
He wes glaid … to flie into ane iland hard by Lairg, … haveing gottin in thither by suiming 1683 Reid Sc. Gard'ner (1907) 90.
The larger your pondes or rivers be … and the more moved by horse, geese and ducks in their sweeming, the sweeter it will be

2. The action of causing (something) to float on water. 1686 Cramond Ch. Grange 48.
Unlawfull wayes of swimming of names on paper 1686 Cramond Ch. Grange 49.
For using unlawfull means by consulting wizards and wrieting and swiming of names among water for recovering of stolen money