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Origin and history of swarm

swarm(n.)

"cloud of honey-bees or other insects moving in a mass," Old English swearm "swarm of bees; multitude," from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz (source also of Old Saxon, Middle Low German swarm, Danish sværm "a swarm," Swedish svärm, Middle Dutch swerm, Old High German swaram, German Schwarm "swarm;" Old Norse svarmr "tumult").

Watkins, etc., derived this from a PIE imitative root *swer- "to buzz, whisper" (see susurration) on the notion of humming sound. But OED (2nd ed. print, 1989) suggests a connection with base of swerve and prehistoric sense of "agitated, confused, or deflected motion."

In reference to persons, the general sense of "great number; multitude; large, dense throng" is from early 15c.

swarm(v.1)

"climb (a tree, pole, etc.) by clasping with the arms and legs alternately; to shin," 1540s, a word of uncertain origin. "Perh. orig. a sailor's word borrowed from the Continent, but no trace of the meaning has been discovered for phonetically corresponding words" [OED, 2nd ed. print, 1989].

Also recorded as swarve (16c.) and in Northern dialects swarble, swarmle. Related: Swarmed; swarming.

also from 1540s

swarm(v.2)

of bees, "leave a hive to start another," also "gather or move in a great numbers," late 14c., from swarm (n.). Compare Middle Dutch swarmen, Dutch zwermen, German schwärmen, Danish sværme. The sense of "be crowded, be thronged" (as in swarming with) is by 1590s. Related: Swarmed; swarming.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to swarm

susurration(n.)

"a whispering, a murmur," c. 1400, susurracioun, from Latin susurrationem (nominative susurratio), noun of action from past-participle stem of susurrare "to hum, murmur," from susurrus "a murmur, whisper." This is held to be a reduplication of a PIE imitative *swer- "to buzz, whisper" (source also of Sanskrit svarati "sounds, resounds," Greek syrinx "flute," Latin surdus "dull, mute," Old Church Slavonic svirati "to whistle," Lithuanian surma "pipe, shawm," German schwirren "to buzz," Old English swearm "a swarm").

swerve(v.)

c. 1200, swerven, "depart, go make off; turn away or aside;" c. 1300, "turn aside, deviate from a straight course." In form it seems to be from Old English sweorfan "to rub, scour, file away, grind away," but sense development is difficult to trace, and "the sudden emergence of the sense of "turn aside" in ME. is remarkable" [OED 2nd ed. print, 1989].

The Old English word is from Proto-Germanic *swerb- (cf Old Norse sverfa "to scour, file," Old Saxon swebran "to wipe off"), from PIE root *swerbh- "to turn; wipe off."

The development of senses appears to have been 'rub, wipe, polish, file, move to and fro, turn, turn aside, wander ' ; but two orig. diff. words may be concerned. [Century Dictionary]

Cognate words in other Germanic languages (Old Frisian swerva "to creep," Middle Dutch swerven "to rove, roam, stray") suggests the sense of "go off, turn aside" might have existed in Old English, though unrecorded.

In reference to moral actions or courses by c. 1400. Transitive sense of "cause to change course" is from late 14c. The "filing" senses did not survive Old English but are preserved in swarf. Related: Swerved; swerving.

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