swig

Unknown, mid 16th c. Perhaps connected with Old English swelgan (“to swallow”).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /swɪɡ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪɡ

swig (third-person singular simple present swigs, present participle swigging, simple past and past participle swigged)

1. To drink (usually by gulping or in a greedy or unrefined manner); to quaff.

   Synonyms: chug, gulp, guzzle, quaff

   That sailor can swig whisky with the best of 'em.

2. (obsolete) To suck.
   • Creech

     The lambkins swig the teat.

3. (nautical) To take up the last bit of slack in rigging by taking a single turn around a cleat, then hauling on the line above and below the cleat while keeping tension on the line.

   Synonym: sweating

• See also Thesaurus:drink

swig (plural swigs)

1. (obsolete) Drink, liquor. [1540s–?]
2. (by extension) A long draught from a drink. [from 1620s]

   Synonyms: draught, sip, swill

   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Five”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, Limited, published 14 November 1883, OCLC 702939134, (please specify |part=I to VI):

     He looked up, however, at my coming, knocked the neck off the bottle like a man who had done the same thing often, and took a good swig, with his favourite toast of "Here's luck!"

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 12: The Cyclops]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare & Co.; Sylvia Beach, OCLC 560090630; republished London: Published for the Egoist Press, London by John Rodker, Paris, October 1922, OCLC 2297483:

     And he took the last swig out of the pint.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Marryat to this entry?)

3. (obsolete) A person who drinks deeply.
4. (nautical) A tackle with ropes which are not parallel.
5. Warm beer flavoured with spices, lemon, etc.

• See also Thesaurus:drink

• WSGI, wigs