Schwimmen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To propel oneself in water by using the limbs in a coordinated manner; to move through a liquid medium using one’s body or limbs for assistance; engaging in the activity of moving through water for exercise or recreation
2. The act of moving through water using arms and legs; navigating through a body of water using rhythmic movements; participating in water-based activities for fitness, leisure, or sport
3. The process of utilizing limbs to push against water for movement; a coordinated action to traverse aquatic environments; a popular activity often done for enjoyment or fitness in pools or open water

Etymology: The German verb "schwimmen" (to swim) is related to English "swim," and the two share a Germanic ancestor that once meant something closer to "move quickly" or "move along" than specifically "move through water." The English word "swim" comes from Old English "swimman," and the link to the German form is a genuine cognate relationship rather than a borrowing in either direction. The Proto-Germanic root behind both, reconstructed as "swimmanan," seems to have covered a broader sense of rapid motion or dizziness, and some related Germanic words still carry that flavour. Old English even used the verb for a feeling of faintness or the world seeming to spin, a sense that survives in the old phrase "swim before the eyes." The meaning narrowed over time toward propelling oneself through water. Because German and English split from a common ancestor, "schwimmen" and "swim" are doublets of inheritance rather than one word borrowed from the other. Both preserve the same initial "sw" and the same core sound, a sign of how far back the two languages share their vocabulary.

Synonyms: swim, float, paddle, bathe

Antonyms: sink, drown