Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sweam

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
sweam
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A swimming of the head; a fainting fit; a swoon.

noun

A sudden qualm of sickness.

Etymology

From Middle English sweem, sweme, swem (“a dizziness”), from Middle English swemen (“to feel faint, be overcome”), from Old English *swǣman (“to trouble, grieve”); and also from Old Norse sveimr (“a bustle, stir”), from Proto-Germanic *swaimaz (“a moving to and fro, a sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁- (“to sway, swing”). Cognate with Old Norse svími (“dizziness, fainting”) (Danish svime (“a swoon”)), Dutch zwijm (“a swoon, fainting fit”), Old English swīma (“vertigo, dizziness, a swoon”). More at swim.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: sweem, swemen, *swǣman, sveimr, *swaimaz, *sweh₁-

Inflected Forms

Questions

What does sweam mean?
A swimming of the head; a fainting fit; a swoon.
Where does sweam come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce sweam

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sweam”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sweam”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “sweam” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.