Swonk

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To work very hard at a task, laboring away with great effort and persistence, as in a long, tiring stretch of duty
2. To toil steadily and wearily, putting a great deal of effort into some demanding job
3. To labor strenuously over something, grinding away at work that takes a lot of energy

Etymology: "Swonk" is the past tense of "swink," an old verb meaning to labour or toil. It is an inflected form, so the story belongs to "swink." That verb descends from Old English "swincan," meaning to labour or work, which in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic root "*swinkaną," meaning to swing or bend. The sense of bending oneself to hard work is a fitting path from a physical motion to a word for exhausting effort. The noun "swink," meaning toil or the produce of labour, came down from Old English "swinc" through Middle English. Old Norse had a close relative, "svinka," meaning to work, which shows the verb was shared across the early Germanic languages.