different between swift vs sprightly

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?sp?a?tli/
• Hyphenation: spright?ly

Etymology 1

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘behaving like, having the nature of’). Spright is an obsolete variant of sprite (“a shade, spirit; elf, fairy, goblin; apparition, ghost”), from Middle English sprit (“principle of life; soul, especially at the point of death; immaterial being (angel, demon, apparition, ghost, etc.); divine inspiration; Holy Spirit; the mind, intellect, reason; mental faculties, senses; power of prophecy; character, disposition; courage, resolution; mood, state of mind; human will; breath; (alchemy) volatile substance”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman esprite, esprit and Middle French esprit, variants of Anglo-Norman, Middle French, Old French espirit, esperit (“spirit”), from Latin sp?ritus (“air; breath; breathing; ghost, spirit”), from sp?r? (“to breathe; to breathe out, exhale”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)) + -tus (“suffix forming action nouns from verbs”).

Adjective

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

   Synonyms: energetic, high-spirited, (chiefly Australia, US) spright

   Antonym: melancholy
2. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step.

   Synonyms: active, dynamic, mettlesome, vivacious

   1. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry.
3. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral.

Alternative forms

• sprightlie (obsolete)
• spritely

Derived terms

• spright (adjective) (chiefly Australia, US)
• sprightle (English Midlands, Northern Ireland, rare)
• sprightlily
• sprightliness

Related terms

• sprightful
• sprightless (rare)
• sprightness (rare)

Translations

Etymology 2

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adverbs from adjectives).; see further at etymology 1.

Adverb

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.

Derived terms

• sprightlily

Translations

References

Anagrams

• triglyphs