Swallowings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The acts of causing food, drink, or other substances to pass from the mouth through the throat into the stomach; the process by which animals or humans deglutinate; instances of enduring or accepting something difficult or unpleasant
2. Moments when material is drawn from the mouth to the stomach by muscular action; the physiological function of deglutition in humans or animals; figurative acceptance or tolerance of adverse circumstances
3. The process involving the movement of substances from oral cavity to digestive tract; the reflex allowing ingestion and swallowing; occasions of quietly enduring or taking in something undesirable

Etymology: "Swallowings" is simply the plural of "swallowing," the noun for the act of passing something from mouth to stomach. The noun itself comes from the verb "swallow," which goes back to Old English "swelgan," with the "-ing" ending added to turn the action into a thing you can count. The form "swolwynge" appears in Middle English, and the plural adds a final "-s" to mark several separate acts of swallowing. The verb "swallow" has a sense that reaches well beyond food. To swallow an insult or a bitter disappointment is to accept it without visible protest, and the plural "swallowings" carries that meaning too, counting each instance of having to take something hard without complaint. The physical act and the figurative endurance grew from the same root, which is why the noun can describe both a meal and a humiliation.

Synonyms: ingestions, gulpings, consumptions

Antonyms: regurgitations, expulsions