different between flight vs swarm

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: fl?t, IPA^(key): /fla?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Etymology 1

From Middle English flight, from Old English flyht (“flight”), from Proto-Germanic *fluhtiz (“flight”), derived from *fleugan? (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”), enlargement of *plew- (“flow”). Analyzable as fly +? -t (variant of -th). Cognate with West Frisian flecht (“flight”), Dutch vlucht (“flight”), German Flucht (“flight”) (etymology 2).

Noun

flight (countable and uncountable, plural flights)

1. The act of flying.

2. An instance of flying.

3. (collective) A collective term for doves or swallows.

4. A trip made by an aircraft, particularly one between two cities or countries, which is often planned or reserved in advance.

5. A series of stairs between landings.
6. A group of canal locks with a short distance between them
7. A floor which is reached by stairs or escalators.

8. The feathers on an arrow or dart used to help it follow an even path.
9. A paper plane.
10. (cricket) The movement of a spinning ball through the air - concerns its speed, trajectory and drift.
11. The ballistic trajectory of an arrow or other projectile.
12. An aerodynamic surface designed to guide such a projectile's trajectory.
13. An air force unit.
14. Several sample glasses of a specific wine varietal or other beverage. The pours are smaller than a full glass and the flight will generally include three to five different samples.
15. (engineering) The shaped material forming the thread of a screw.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

flight (comparative more flight, superlative most flight)

1. (obsolete) Fast, swift, fleet.

Verb

flight (third-person singular simple present flights, present participle flighting, simple past and past participle flighted)

1. (cricket, of a spin bowler) To throw the ball in such a way that it has more airtime and more spin than usual.
2. (sports, by extension, transitive) To throw or kick something so as to send it flying with more loft or airtime than usual.

See also

Appendix:English collective nouns

Etymology 2

From Middle English, from Old English flyht, from Proto-Germanic *fluhtiz, derived from *fleuhan? (“to flee”). Analyzable as flee +? -t (variant of -th). Cognate with Dutch vlucht, German Flucht (etymology 1).

Noun

flight (countable and uncountable, plural flights)

1. The act of fleeing.

   take flight

   the flight of a refugee

Related terms

• flee

Translations

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English flyht.

Noun

flight (plural flights)

1. flight (act of flying)

English

Etymology

From Middle English swarm, from Old English swearm (“swarm, multitude”), 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 ???????? (svirél?, “a pipe, reed”).

The verb is from Middle English swarmen, swermen, from Old English swierman (“to swarm”), from Proto-Germanic *swarmijan? (“to swarm”), from the noun. Cognate with Scots swairm, swerm (“to swarm”), Dutch zwermen, German schwärmen, Danish sværme, Swedish svärma.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sw??m/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sw??m/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m

Noun

swarm (plural swarms)

1. A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
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. (computing) A group of nodes sharing the same torrent in a BitTorrent network.

Derived terms

• aswarm

Translations

Verb

swarm (third-person singular simple present swarms, present participle swarming, simple past and past participle swarmed)

1. (intransitive) To move as a swarm.
2. (intransitive) To teem, or be overrun with insects, people, etc.

   • Every place swarming with soldiers.

3. (transitive) To fill a place as a swarm.
4. (transitive) To overwhelm as by an opposing army.
5. To climb by gripping with arms and legs alternately.
   • 1784, William Coxe, Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark

     At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it.

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 55

     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.

6. To breed multitudes.

Translations

See also

• Appendix:English collective nouns

Anagrams

• warms

Middle English

Alternative forms

• swrame, swarme

Etymology

From Old English swearm, from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /swarm/, /sw?rm/

Noun

swarm (plural swarmes)

1. A swarm (large, moving group of bees)
2. (rare) A large group of people.

Derived terms

• swarmen

Descendants

• English: swarm
• Scots: swairm

References

• “swarm, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-24.