different between swift vs fleeting

English

Etymology

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English sw?fan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sw?ft/
• Homophone: Swift
• Rhymes: -?ft

Adjective

swift (comparative swifter, superlative swiftest)

1. Fast; quick; rapid.
2. Capable of moving at high speeds.

Translations

Noun

swift (plural swifts)

1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.

   Synonyms: needletail, spinetail, swiftlet

2. Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.

   Synonym: fence lizard, spiny lizard

3. (entomology) A moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.
4. (entomology) Any of various fast-flying hesperiid butterflies.
5. A reel for winding yarn.
6. The main cylinder of a carding-machine.
7. (obsolete) The current of a stream.

Translations

Adverb

swift (comparative more swift, superlative most swift)

1. (obsolete, poetic) Swiftly.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, II. iii. 263:

     Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.

   • 1793, Robert Southey, Lord William

     Ply swift and strong the oar.

Synonyms

• swith

Derived terms

• African swift (Apus barbatus)
• alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba)
• Andean swift (Aeronautes andecolus)
• ashy-tailed swift (Chaetura andrei)
• band-rumped swift (Chaetura spinicaudus)
• Bates's swift (Apus batesi)
• black swift (Cypseloides niger)
• Blyth's swift (Apus leuconyx)
• Bradfield's swift (Apus bradfieldi)
• chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica)
• common swift (Apus apus)
• Cook's swift (Apus cooki)
• Costa Rican swift (Chaetura fumosa)
• crested swift (Hemiprocnidae spp.)
• dark-rumped swift (Apus acuticauda)
• emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus)
• Eurasian swift, European swift (Apus apus)
• fence swift (Sceloporus undulatis)
• Fernando Po swift (Apus sladeniae)
• Forbes-Watson's swift (Apus berliozi)
• fork-tailed swift
• ghost swift (Hepialidae)
• great dusky swift (Cypseloides senex)
• great swift (Hepialus humuli)
• grey-rumped swift (Chaetura cinereiventris)
• little swift (Apus affinis)
• mottled swift (Tachymarptis aequatorialis)
• needle-tailed swift (Hirundapus caudacutus)
• Nyanza swift (Apus niansae)
• orange swift (Triodia sylvina)
• Pacific swift (Apus pacificus)
• pallid swift (Apus pallidus)
• palm swift (Cypsiurus spp.)
• pine swift (Sceloporus undulatus)
• sagebrush swift (Sceloporus graciosus)
• Salim Ali's swift (Apus salimali)
• scarce swift (Schoutedenapus myoptilus)
• Schouteden's swift (Schoutedenapus schoutedeni)
• Sick's swift (Chaetura meridionalis)
• sooty swift (Cypseloides fumigatus)
• spine-tailed swift (Hirundapus caudacutus)
• spot-fronted swift (Cypseloides cherriei)
• swift fox (Vulpes velox)
• swift fruit bat (Thoopterus nigrescens)
• swift moth
• swiftness
• swiftlet (Apodidae spp.)
• swiftly
• swift parrot (Lathamus discolor)
• swiftwater
• tree swift, treeswift (Hemiprocnidae spp.)
• white-chested swift (Cypseloides lemosi)
• white-chinned swift (Cypseloides cryptus)
• white-collared swift (Streptoprocne zonaris)
• white-naped swift (Streptoprocne semicollaris)
• white-throated swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
• white-tipped swift (Aeronautes montivagus)

Old English

Etymology

From the verb sw?fan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /swift/

Adjective

swift (comparative swiftra, superlative swiftost)

1. swift, quick

Declension

Derived terms

• swiftl??e
• swiftnes

Descendants

• English: swift

English

Etymology

From Middle English fleten (“to float”), from Old English fl?otan (“to float”), from Proto-Germanic *fleutan?, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fli?t??/

Adjective

fleeting (comparative more fleeting, superlative most fleeting)

1. Passing quickly; of short duration.
   • 1931, Martha Kinross, "The Screen — From This Side", The Fortnightly, Volume 130, page 511:

     Architecture, sculpture, painting are static arts. Even in literature "our flying minds," as George Meredith says, cannot contain protracted description. It is so; for from sequences of words they must assemble all the details in one simultaneous impression. But moments of fleeting beauty too transient to be caught by any means less swift than light itself are registered on the screen.

   • 2003, Gabrielle Walker, Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It, Three Rivers Press (2003), ?ISBN, pages 34-35:

     During the fleeting summer months of his field season, when the outer vestiges of winter melted briefly, there were ponds and pools and lakes of water everywhere.

   • 2008, Barbara L. Bellman & Susan Goldstein, Flirting After Fifty: Lessons for Grown-Up Women on How to Find Love Again, iUniverse (2008), ?ISBN, page 12:

     For starters, we see examples all the time of some middle-aged men trying to hang onto their own fleeting youth by sporting younger women on their arms.

   • 2010, Leslie Ludy, The Lost Art of True Beauty: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Feminine Grace, Harvest House Publishers (2010), ?ISBN, page 5:

     And I am inspired afresh to pursue the stunning beauty of Christ rather than the fleeting beauty of this world.

Synonyms

• ephemeral
• See also Thesaurus:ephemeral.

Translations

Usage notes

Often used with nouns indicating mental, perceptual, or emotional states, such as: "a fleeting thought", "a fleeting glimpse" "a fleeting impression", "a fleeting hope", or to indicate that the shortness of duration might be regretted : "fleeting beauty", "fleeting youth".

Verb

fleeting

1. present participle of fleet