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Swan vs Wan - What's the difference?

swan | wan |

As nouns the difference between swan and wan

is that swan is any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus, most of which have white plumage while wan is the quality of being wan; wanness.

As verbs the difference between swan and wan

is that swan is to travel or move about in an aimless, idle, or pretentiously casual way while wan is past tense of win.

As a proper noun Swan

is {{surname}.

As an adjective wan is

pale, sickly-looking.

swan

English

(wikipedia swan)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

Noun

(en-noun)
  • Any of various species of large, long-necked waterfowl, of genus Cygnus , most of which have white plumage.
  • (figuratively) One whose grace etc. suggests a swan.
    • Derived terms
    * swanling * swan species: black swan, black-necked swan, mute swan, trumpeter swan, tundra swan, whooper swan * swan boat * swan dive * swanherd * swannery * swansdown * swanskin * swan song
    See also
    * cob (adult male) * cygnet (epicene, young) * lamentation * pen (adult female)

    Verb

    (swann)
  • (British) To travel or move about in an aimless, idle, or pretentiously casual way.
  • * 2010 , Lee Rourke, The Canal , Melville House Publishing (2010), ISBN 9781935554905, unnumbered page:
    • He swans' around that stinking office in his expensive clothes that are a little too tight for comfort, he ' swans around that stinking office without a care in the world.
  • * 2013 , Tilly Bagshawe, One Summer’s Afternoon , HarperCollins (2013), ISBN 9780007472550, unnumbered page:
    • One of the few strokes of good luck Emma had had in recent days was the news that Tatiana Flint-Hamilton, her only real rival for top billing as 'most photographable girl' at today's event had decided to swan off to Sardinia instead, leaving the limelight entirely to Emma.
    Usage notes
    * In the sense "to travel", usually used as part of the phrase "to swan about" or "to swan around".

    Etymology 2

    Probably from dialectal , contraction of "I shall warrant"; later seen as a minced form of (term).

    Verb

    (swann)
  • (US, slang) To declare (chiefly in first-person present constructions).
  • * 1907 December, J. D. Archer, Foiling an eavesdropper'', in ''Telephony , volume 14, page 345:
    • "Well, I swan , man, I had a better opinion of you than that."
  • * 1940 , (Raymond Chandler), Farewell, My Lovely , Penguin 2010, page 214:
    • ‘She slammed the door so hard I figured a window'd break .’ ‘I swan ,’ I said.

    Anagrams

    * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) ----

    wan

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (wanner)
  • Pale, sickly-looking.
  • * Spenser
    • Sad to view, his visage pale and wan .
  • * Longfellow
    • the wan moon overhead
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1921 , year_published=2012 , edition=HTML , editor= , author=Edgar Rice Burrows , title=The Efficiency Expert , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=The Gutenberg Project , isbn= , page= , passage=She looked wan and worried, ... }}
  • Dim, faint.
  • * {{quote-book, passage=’twas so far away, that evil day when I prayed to the Prince of Gloom / For the savage strength and the sullen length of life to work his doom. / Nor sign nor word had I seen or heard, and it happed so long ago; / My youth was gone and my memory wan , and I willed it even so.
    • , title=(Ballads of a Cheechako) , chapter=(The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike) , author=Robert W. Service , year=1909}}
  • Bland, uninterested.
    • A wan expression

    Noun

    (-)
  • The quality of being wan; wanness.
  • * Tennyson
    • Tinged with wan from lack of sleep.

    Etymology 2

    Inflected forms.

    Verb

    (head)
  • (obsolete) (win)

    • Anagrams

    * ----