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swan
swan [OE swan, suan]. The large, long-necked amphibious bird (genus Cygnus, Olor) has played an important role in Celtic iconography and tradition from earliest times. The long-necked water birds pull model wagons in art surviving from the Urnfield (1500–800 BC) and Hallstatt (1200–600 BC) eras. Swans are less common during Roman domination, but one is featured in a sculpture of three mothers and three children in a boat found at Alesia in eastern France. A metal horse-goad from early Ireland found at Dunaverney, Co. Antrim, features swans with cygnets that can be turned in place, suggestive of augury. In early Irish literary tradition the swan is often depicted as the epitome of purity, beauty, and potential good luck. In Welsh stories swans are more likely to imply communication between the Otherworld and the world of mortals, as when swans doff their feathers and frolic in a lake as maidens. Yet a certain sexual association, perhaps suggested by the phallic long neck, is often implied. Derbforgaill (1) takes the form of a swan when she comes from Lochlainn with her maidens to woo Cúchulainn. Much earlier, a flock of destructive yet beautiful swans festooned with gold and silver chains ravages the area around Emain Macha when Cúchulainn is conceived. In still another story Cúchulainn returns to Emain Macha with a flock of swans, again in gold and silver chains, wild deer, and three severed heads. The chains of precious metal probably evoke the supernatural. Silver chains adorn Cáer (1), the swan-maiden in love with Angus Óg in Aislinge Óenguso [The Dream of Angus]. Not all humans taking swan form are female, however. In the third part of Tochmarc Étaíne [The Wooing of Étaín], the otherworldly Midir is transformed into a swan and flies through a smoke-hole in the roof after he wins an amorous embrace with Étaín, wife of Eochaid Airem. King Mongán also takes the form of a swan. Most memorably, the male and female children of Lir in Oidheadh Chlainne Lir [The Tragic Story of the Children of Lir] are transformed into swans, spend three watery exiles of 300 years each, are returned to human form, and are baptized Christians just before crumbling into dust. Irish oral tradition records the story of an old man who hides his money in the body of a swan he thinks dead, but it awakens and flies away with his hoard of coins. OIr. ela; ModIr. eala; ScG eala; Manx olla; W alarch; Corn. alargh; Bret. alarc'h.
Bibliography See Anne Ross , Pagan Celtic Britain (London, 1967), 234–42. |
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "swan." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "swan." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-swan.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "swan." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-swan.html |
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swan
swan swans have numerous legendary associations, including the story in Irish mythology that the Children of Lir were changed into swans by enchantment, and the Finnish belief that the swan sings once before it dies. In classical mythology the swan was sacred to Apollo and to Venus (occasionally, as by Shakespeare, also ascribed to Juno).
In reference to its pure white plumage and graceful appearance, the swan is often taken as a type of faultlessness or excellence. A swan is the emblem of St Hugh of Lincoln. swan maiden in Norse and Germanic folk tales, a girl who has the power of transforming herself into a swan by means of a dress of swan's feathers or of a magic ring or chain. Swan of Avon a name for Shakespeare, deriving from Ben Jonson's ‘Sweet Swan of Avon!’ in his poem ‘To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author, Mr William Shakespeare’ (1623). swan-upping the action or practice of ‘upping’ or taking up swans and marking them with nicks on the beak in token of being owned by the crown or some corporation. See also black swan, all one's geese are swans. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "swan." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "swan." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-swan.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "swan." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-swan.html |
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swan
swan / swän/ • n. a large waterbird with a long flexible neck, short legs, webbed feet, a broad bill, and typically all-white plumage. • Genus Cygnus (and Coscoroba): several species. • v. (swanned , swan·ning ) [intr.] inf. move about or go somewhere in a casual, relaxed way, typically perceived as irresponsible or ostentatious by others: swanning around in a $2,000 sharkskin suit doesn't make you a Renaissance prince. DERIVATIVES: swan·like / -ˌlīk/ adj. |
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"swan." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "swan." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-swan005.html "swan." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-swan005.html |
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swan
swan Any of several species of graceful, white or black waterfowl that nest in n Northern Hemisphere and migrate s for winter. Three species, including the Australian Black swan, live in the Southern Hemisphere. Most have broad, flat bills, long necks, plump bodies, and dense plumage. They dip their heads under water to feed on plant matter. Length: to 2m (6.5ft). Family Anatidae; genus Cygnus.
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"swan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "swan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-swan.html "swan." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-swan.html |
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swan
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T. F. HOAD. "swan." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "swan." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-swan.html T. F. HOAD. "swan." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-swan.html |
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swans
swans See ANATIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "swans." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "swans." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-swans.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "swans." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-swans.html |
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swan
swan
•aide-de-camp, aides-de-camp, anon, Asunción, au courant, begone, Bonn, bon vivant, Caen, Canton, Carcassonne, Ceylon, chaconne, chateaubriand, ci-devant, Colón, colon, Concepción, con (US conn), cretonne, don, Duchamp, Evonne, foregone, fromage blanc, Gabon, Garonne, gone, guenon, hereupon, Inchon, Jean, john, Jon, Le Mans, León, Luzon, Mont Blanc, Narbonne, odds-on, on, outgone, outshone, Perón, phon, piñon, Pinot Blanc, plafond, Ramón, Saigon, Saint-Saëns, Sand, Schwann, scone, shone, side-on, sine qua non, Sorbonne, spot-on, swan, thereon, thereupon, ton, Toulon, undergone, upon, Villon, wan, whereon, whereupon, won, wonton, yon, Yvonne
•crayon, rayon
•Leon, Lyons, neon, prion
•Ceredigion • Mabinogion • nucleon
•Amiens • dupion • parathion
•Laocoon
•gluon, Rouen
•bon-bon • Audubon
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"swan." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "swan." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-swan.html "swan." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-swan.html |
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