-sw-

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swabbed p. pr. & vb. n. Swabbing. ] [ See Swabber, n. ] To clean with a mop or swab; to wipe when very wet, as after washing; as, to swab the desk of a ship. [ Spelt also swob. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Written also swob. ] 1. A kind of mop for cleaning floors, the desks of vessels, etc., esp. one made of rope-yarns or threads. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bit of sponge, cloth, or the like, fastened to a handle, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person, applying medicaments to deep-seated parts, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) An epaulet. [ Sailor's Slang ] Marryat. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A cod, or pod, as of beans or pease. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A sponge, or other suitable substance, attached to a long rod or handle, for cleaning the bore of a firearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To swab. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. zwabber; cf.D. zwabberen to swab, G. schwabbern, Dan. svabre, Sw. svab a swab, svabla to swab. ] 1. One who swabs a floor or desk. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) Formerly, an interior officer on board of British ships of war, whose business it was to see that the ship was kept clean. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Same as Swobber, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Probably fr. AS. swe&unr_;ian to bind. ] [ Written also swod. ] 1. A cod, or pod, as of beans or pease. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Swad, in the north, is a peascod shell -- thence used for an empty, shallow-headed fellow. Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A clown; a country bumpkin. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] “Country swains, and silly swads.” Greene. [ 1913 Webster ]

There was one busy fellow was their leader,
A blunt, squat swad, but lower than yourself. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A lump of mass; also, a crowd. [ Low, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Coal Mining) A thin layer of refuse at the bottom of a seam. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swaddled p. pr. & vb. n. Swaddling ] 1. To bind as with a bandage; to bind or warp tightly with clothes; to swathe; -- used esp. of infants; as, to swaddle a baby. [ 1913 Webster ]

They swaddled me up in my nightgown with long pieces of linen. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To beat; to cudgel. [ Obs. ] Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. swe&unr_;il, swe&unr_;el, fr. swe&unr_;ain to bind. See Swathe. ] Anything used to swaddle with, as a cloth or band; a swaddling band. [ 1913 Webster ]

They put me in bed in all my swaddles. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The shoveler. [ Local, U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]