different between swarm vs heap

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.

English

Etymology

From Middle English heep, from Old English h?ap, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (compare Dutch hoop, German Low German Hupen, German Haufen), from Proto-Indo-European *koupos (“hill”) (compare Lithuanian ka?pas, Albanian qipi (“stack”), Avestan ????????????????? (kåfa)).

Pronunciation

• enPR: h?p, IPA^(key): /hi?p/
• ((Ireland), dated) enPR: h?p, IPA^(key): /he?p/
• Rhymes: -i?p

Noun

heap (plural heaps)

1. A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.
   • 1623, Francis Bacon, An Advertisement touching an Holy War

     a heap of vassals and slaves

   • 1876, Anthony Trollope, s:Doctor Thorne

     He had plenty of friends, heaps of friends in the parliamentary sense

2. A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or thrown together so as to form an elevation.

   • Huge heaps of slain around the body rise.
3. A great number or large quantity of things.
   • 1679, Gilbert Burnet, The History of the Reformation of the Church of England

     a vast heap, both of places of scripture and quotations

   • 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson, s:Will o' the Mill

     I have noticed a heap of things in my life.

4. (computing) A data structure consisting of trees in which each node is greater than all its children.
5. (computing) Memory that is dynamically allocated.

6. (colloquial) A dilapidated place or vehicle.
   • 1991 May 12, "Kidnapped!" Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:

     Chuffy: It's on a knife edge at the moment, Bertie. If he can get planning permission, old Stoker's going to take this heap off my hands in return for vast amounts of oof.

7. (colloquial) A lot, a large amount

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:lot

Hyponyms

• compost heap

Derived terms

• heapful
• heapmeal
• it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: ipi

Translations

Verb

heap (third-person singular simple present heaps, present participle heaping, simple past and past participle heaped)

1. (transitive) To pile in a heap.

2. (transitive) To form or round into a heap, as in measuring.
   • 1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, Act I, scene II, verses 40-42

     Cry a reward, to him who shall first bring
     News of that vanished Arabian,
     A full-heap’d helmet of the purest gold.

3. (transitive) To supply in great quantity.

Synonyms

• (pile in a heap): amass, heap up, pile up; see also Thesaurus:pile up

Derived terms

• heap coals of fire on someone's head
• heaped (adj), heaping (adj)
• heap up
• overheap

Translations

Adverb

heap (not comparable)

1. (offensive, representing broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans) Very.
   • 1980, Joey Lee Dillard, Perspectives on American English (page 417)

     We are all familiar with the stereotyped broken English which writers of Western stories, comic strips, and similar literature put into the mouths of Indians: 'me heap big chief', 'you like um fire water', and so forth.

   • 2004, John Robert Colombo, The Penguin Book of Canadian Jokes (page 175)

     Once upon a time, a Scotsman, an Englishman, and an Irishman are captured by the Red Indians […] He approaches the Englishman, pinches the skin of his upper arm, and says, "Hmmm, heap good skin, nice and thick.

Anagrams

• HAPE, HEPA, epha, hep A

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz.

Cognate with Old Frisian h?p, Old Saxon h?p, Old High German houf. Old Norse hópr differs from the expected form *haupr because it is a borrowing from Middle Low German.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xæ???p/, [hæ???p]

Noun

h?ap m

1. group
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Paul the Apostle"

2. heap

Declension

Derived terms

• h?apm?lum

Descendants

• Middle English: heep
  • English: heap

Portuguese

Etymology

From English heap

Noun

heap m or f (in variation) (plural heaps)

1. (computing) heap (tree-based data structure)

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian h?p, from Proto-West Germanic *haup, from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (“heap”).

Noun

heap c (plural heapen or heappen, diminutive heapke)

1. heap, pile
2. mass, gang, horde

Further reading

• “heap”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011