swat en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /swɒt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /swɔt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /swɒt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /swɑt/ (General-American, dialectal) of Canada
- (California) audio
- /swɒt/ (Canada, dialectal) of the US
Etymology
Alteration of squat.
Meanings
- A hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking.
-
(alt-of, alternative) Alternative spelling of swot: vigorous study at an educational institution.
alt of swot
There is work enough—and too much—without this voluntary labor. The confinement during the bright sunny hours of the day is irksome and dispiriting; and it may be fairly questioned whether less would be learnt, if the study hours were reduced from nine to seven—especially as the greater part of these nine long hours is devoted to Mathematics. The cadets have a shorter word for it; they call it swat—a monosyllable which may puzzle the etimologists; but we believe it to be a corruption of the word sweat, and as signifying that a knowledge of mathematics is only to be acquired with much toil—with much sweat of the brow—a sufficiently expressive, word it must be acknowledged.
1844, “Rules and Regulations of the Honorable East India Company's Seminary at Addiscombe, 1834”, in John William Kaye, editor, Calcutta Review, volume II, No. 4 Tank Square, Calcutta: Sanders and Cones, retrieved 08 Jan 2020, page 136:These seemed to be talking very vehemently about something they called " swat." One of these young gentlemen who had black hair and a pimpled face, seeing Peregrine, turned round and asked him "how far had he gone?" "Where" asked Peregrine, hastily. "In swat!" said the pimple-faced boy. "What's swat?" asked Peregrine Pultuney. "In your studies," said he of the pimples.
1844, John William Kaye, chapter 3, in Peregrine Pultuney: or, Life in India, volume I, Adelaide Street, Trafalgar Square, London: John Mortimer, retrieved 08 Jan 2020, page 73:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| swats | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Translations (8)
fr coup (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · de Schlag (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · fi läimäytys (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · bg силен удар (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · pt golpe (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · it colpo secco (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · it pacca (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking) · it schiaffo (a hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking)