Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

swart

/ˈswɔɹt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.16 in modern English

Syllables: swart
IPA: /ˈswɔɹt/

8

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny.

adj

British usage

adj

Gloomy; malignant.

Obsolete

noun

Black or dark dyestuff.

British usage

verb

To make swart or tawny; blacken; tan.

Transitive verb

noun

Obsolete spelling of sward.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

Variant of swath.

name

Example Sentences

"1400s: Thomas Occleve, Hymns to the Virgin Men schalle then sone se / Att mydday hytt shalle swarte be"
"A nation strange, with visage swart"
"Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,"
"Of shades , and wanton winds , and gushing brooks , On whose fresh lap the swart - star sparely looks"
"I'll choose a gaoler, whose swart monstrous face Shall be a hell to look upon […]"
"The merry soldiers footing it with the swart savage maids"

Etymology

From Middle English swart, from Old English sweart, from Proto-West Germanic *swart, from Proto-Germanic *swartaz, from Proto-Indo-European *swerd-. Doublet of Schwarz.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: swart, sweart, *swart, *swartaz, *swerd-, swarten

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈswɔɹt/
British English: /ˈswɔːt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

swarter (comparative) swartest (superlative) swarts (present, singular) swarting (participle, present) swarted (participle, past) swarted (past) swarts (plural)

Derived Forms

swarten swarty

Frequently Paired Words

forswart swartness swarth

Synonyms

dark-skinned dusky swarthy

Rhymes With

support court short report sort port sport transport fort resort ct import

Questions

How do you pronounce swart?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈswɔɹt/.
What does swart mean?: Of a dark hue; moderately black; swarthy; tawny.
Where does swart come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce swart

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