svimma

Old Norse

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *swimmaną.

Verb

svimma (singular past indicative svamm, plural past indicative summu, past participle summinn)

  1. (intransitive) to swim

Conjugation

Conjugation of svimma — active (strong class 3)
infinitive svimma
present participle svimmandi
past participle summinn
indicative subjunctive
present past present past
1st person singular svimm svamm svimma symma
2nd person singular svimmr svammt svimmir symmir
3rd person singular svimmr svamm svimmi symmi
1st person plural svimmum summum svimmim symmim
2nd person plural svimmið summuð svimmið symmið
3rd person plural svimma summu svimmi symmi
imperative present
2nd person singular svimm
1st person plural svimmum
2nd person plural svimmið
Conjugation of svimma — mediopassive (strong class 3)
infinitive svimmask
present participle svimmandisk
past participle summizk
indicative subjunctive
present past present past
1st person singular svimmumk summumk svimmumk symmumk
2nd person singular svimmsk svammzk svimmisk symmisk
3rd person singular svimmsk svammsk svimmisk symmisk
1st person plural svimmumsk summumsk svimmimsk symmimsk
2nd person plural svimmizk summuzk svimmizk symmizk
3rd person plural svimmask summusk svimmisk symmisk
imperative present
2nd person singular svimmsk
1st person plural svimmumsk
2nd person plural svimmizk

Descendants

  • Faroese: svimja
  • Icelandic: svimma, svima, symja
  • Norn: suma
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: symja, svemja
  • Jamtish: symi
  • Elfdalian: simma
  • Old Swedish: symma
  • Scanian: sømma
  • Old Danish: swimmæ
  • Gutnish: sime

Further reading

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “svimma”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German swimen, from Proto-Germanic *swīmaną (to sway, to swoon). Cf. Danish and Norwegian Bokmål besvime, Norwegian Nynorsk svima av, English sweem, Dutch zwijm. Likely related to English swoon.

Verb

svimma (present svimmar, preterite svimmade, supine svimmat, imperative svimma)

  1. (sometimes with av (off)) to faint, to pass out
    Synonym: tuppa av
    Jag svimmade av skräck när jag såg vampyren
    I fainted with fear when I saw the vampire
    att svimma (av)
    to pass out

Usage notes

  • Avsvimmad is used for the past participle.
  • "Svimma" is a bit closer to "faint," while "tuppa av" is closer to "pass out," though "svimma" does not sound literary.

Conjugation

Conjugation of svimma (weak)
active passive
infinitive svimma
supine svimmat
imperative svimma
imper. plural1 svimmen
present past present past
indicative svimmar svimmade
ind. plural1 svimma svimmade
subjunctive2 svimme svimmade
present participle svimmande
past participle avsvimmad

1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References