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swarm

noun
/swɔɹm/US/swɔːm/UK

Etymology

From Middle English swarm, from Old English swearm (“swarm, multitude”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarm, from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz (“swarm, dizziness”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to buzz, hum”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Swoorm (“swarm”), Dutch zwerm, German Schwarm, Danish sværm, Swedish svärm, Icelandic svarmur (“tumult, swarm”), Latin susurrus (“whispering, humming”), Lithuanian surma (“a pipe”), Russian свире́ль (svirélʹ, “a pipe, reed”). The verb is from Middle English swarmen, swermen, from Old English swirman (“to swarm”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarmijan, from Proto-Germanic *swarmijaną (“to swarm”), from the noun. Cognate with Scots swairm, swerm (“to swarm”), Dutch zwermen, German schwärmen, Danish sværme, Swedish svärma.

  1. inherited from *swarmijaną✻ — “to swarm”
  2. inherited from *swarmijan✻
  3. inherited from swirman — “to swarm”
  4. inherited from swarmen
  5. derived from *swer-✻ — “to buzz, hum”
  6. inherited from *swarmaz✻ — “swarm, dizziness”
  7. inherited from *swarm✻
  8. inherited from swearm — “swarm, multitude”
  9. inherited from swarm

Definitions

  1. A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new…

    A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.

    • […] reſtleſs thoughts, that like a deadly ſwarm / Of Hornets arm'd […] ruſh upon me thronging,

  2. A mass of people, animals or things in motion or turmoil.

    • a swarm of meteorites
    • those prodigious swarms that had settled themselves in every part of it [Italy]

  3. A group of nodes sharing the same torrent in a BitTorrent network.

  4. ›+ 7 more definitions

    1. A number of small earthquakes (or other seismic events) occurring, with no clear cause,…

      A number of small earthquakes (or other seismic events) occurring, with no clear cause, in a specific area within a relatively short space of time.

      • Earthquakes were another concern, particularly after swarms were felt in Oklahoma.

    2. To move as a swarm.

      • There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. Mail bags, so I understand, are being put on board. Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors.

    3. To teem, or be overrun with insects, people, etc.

      • Every place swarming with soldiers.

    4. To fill a place as a swarm.

    5. To overwhelm as by an opposing army.

    6. To climb by gripping with arms and legs alternately.

      • At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it.
      • She called out, and a boy came running along. He swarmed up a tree, and presently threw down a ripe nut. Ata pierced a hole in it, and the doctor took a long, refreshing draught.

    7. To breed multitudes.

      • Not ſo thick ſwarm'd once the Soil / Bedropt with blood of Gorgon,

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at swarm. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01swarm02colony03living04alive05swarming

A definitional loop anchored at swarm. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

5 hops · closes at swarm

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA