Meanings
swire1
nounswire (plural swires)
plural swires
- obsoleteThe neck.
- A hollow between two hills or peaks, especially with a road running through it; a vale.
As he approached the swire at the head of the dell […], he beheld, to his astonishment, a bright halo in the cloud of haze, that rose in a semi-circle over his head like a pale rainbow.
1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 33
Swire2
proper noun
- A surname.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*swerhô
- Old Englishswēora
- Middle Englishswire
- Englishswire
From Middle English swire, from Old English swēora, from Proto-Germanic *swerhô.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
swire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swire
MLA
“swire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swire. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swire,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swire.
Source: swire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.