SWASH
What does "SWASH" mean?
The rush of water up a beach after a wave breaks; also a decorative flourish on a letter.
Meanings
- The thin sheet of water that rushes up a beach after a wave breaks and then drains back. Sandpipers chased the retreating swash along the shore. technical
- An ornamental extended stroke or flourish on a letter in calligraphy and typography. The wedding invitation used an elegant swash on every capital. technical
- To move with a splashing sound; to dash or splash water about. Waves swashed against the harbor wall all night.
Did you know?
- A 'swashbuckler' was literally a noisy show-off: 'swash' meant the clatter of a sword on a shield (a 'buckler'), so the word first described a blustering brawler before it ever meant a dashing hero.
Word origin
Imitative in origin, echoing the sound of splashing water; recorded from the 16th century, also the source of the 'swash' in 'swashbuckler', one who swaggered and clashed his sword on his shield.
Remember it
SWASH sounds like the water it names - say it and you hear the wave wash up the sand.
A little poem
Thin sheet up the sand-
it writes a curving flourish
the next wave erases.
haiku
Wordplay
- Why did the calligrapher love the beach? Every wave came in with a perfect swash.
What it teaches
The same flourish that decorates a letter is washed off the sand a second later; beauty and impermanence keep one name.
Quick facts
What does SWASH mean?
The rush of water up a beach after a wave breaks; also a decorative flourish on a letter.
Is SWASH a valid word?
Yes — SWASH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SWASH?
SWASH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SWASH come from?
Imitative in origin, echoing the sound of splashing water; recorded from the 16th century, also the source of the 'swash' in 'swashbuckler', one who swaggered and clashed his sword on his shield.
What can SWASH teach us?
The same flourish that decorates a letter is washed off the sand a second later; beauty and impermanence keep one name.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.