swimmer

English

Etymology

From Middle English swimmere, equivalent to swim +‎ -er. The dumplings are so called because they are often served in stew.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈswɪm.ə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈswɪm.ɚ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪmə(ɹ)

Noun

swimmer (plural swimmers)

  1. One who swims.
    • 1918, Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism[1], London: Macmillan, page 128:
      The swimmer who is an expert does not exhibit his muscular force by violent movements, but exhibits some power which is invisible and which shows itself in perfect grace and reposefulness.
    • 1994, Bruce Berger, There Was a River, Tucson, A.Z., London: The University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 61:
      In the summer of 1992, eight beaches were closed and swimmers were warned away because of colliform bacteria, caused by boaters emptying toilets directly into the lake or onto nearby shores. Park officials may soon supply the lake with floating waste disposal systems.
  2. A protuberance on the leg of a horse.
  3. A webfooted aquatic bird.
  4. (chiefly in the plural, colloquial) A sperm.
  5. (UK, informal) A Norfolk dumpling.

Derived terms

Translations