Swoon

Pronunciation

• enPR: swo͝on, IPA: /swuːn/
• Rhymes: -uːn

Alternative forms

• swound (archaic)

Origin

From Middle English swownen, swonen ("to faint"), and Middle English aswoune ("in a swoon"), both ultimately from Old English ġeswōgen ("insensible, senseless, dead"), past participle of swōgan ("to make a sound, overrun, suffocate") (compare Old English āswōgan ("to cover over, overcome")), from Proto-Germanic *swōganą ("to make a noise"), from Proto-Indo-European *swāghe- ("to shout"). Cognate with Low German swogen ("to sigh, groan"), Dutch zwoegen ("to groan, breathe heavily"), Norwegian dialectal søgja ("to whistle, hum, talk loudly"). More at sough.

Full definition of swoon

Noun

1. A faint.
• 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21"I felt my strength fading away, and I was in a half swoon. How long this horrible thing lasted I know not, but it seemed that a long time must have passed before he took his foul, awful, sneering mouth away. I saw it drip with the fresh blood!"
2. An infatuation

Verb

1. (dated) to faint, to lose consciousness
• 1918 , Edgar Rice Burroughs , The Gods of Mars Chapter , I dropped the vessel quickly to a lower level. Nor was I a moment too soon. The girl had swooned.
2. to be overwhelmed by emotion (especially infatuation)

Derived terms

• swooningly

Synonyms

• (faint) black out, faint, lose consciousness, pass out
• (be overwhelmed by emotion)