swevening

S1W4E1V4E1N1I1N1G2
/ˈswɛvə.nɪŋ/

noun

A dreaming.

“He saw distorted, dancing shapes in a nightmarish swevening.”

OriginMiddle English swevenyng →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounswevening (plural swevenings)

plural swevenings

  1. obsoleteregionalA dreaming.

    He saw distorted, dancing shapes in a nightmarish swevening.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishswevenyng
  2. Englishswevening

From Middle English swevenyng, from sweven (“dream”) and thus equivalent to sweven + -ing. Germanic cognates include Danish søvn (“sleep”), Icelandic svefn (“sleep”), Norwegian søvn (“sleep”), Swedish sömn (“sleep”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

swevening. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swevening

MLA

“swevening.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swevening. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swevening,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swevening.

Source: swevening on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.