Moving a great distance in a short time; moving with celerity or velocity; fleet; rapid; quick; speedy; prompt. "My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.""Swift of dispatch and easy of access.""And bring upon themselves swift destruction."
2.
Of short continuance; passing away quickly. Note: Swift is often used in the formation of compounds which are generally self-explaining; as, swift-darting, swift-footed, swift-winged, etc.
(Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small, long-winged, insectivorous birds of the family Micropodidae. In form and habits the swifts resemble swallows, but they are destitute of complex vocal muscles and are not singing birds, but belong to a widely different group allied to the humming birds. Note: The common European swift (Cypselus apus syn. Micropus apus) nests in church steeples and under the tiles of roofs, and is noted for its rapid flight and shrill screams. It is called also black martin, black swift, hawk swallow, devil bird, swingdevil, screech martin, and shriek owl. The common American, or chimney, swift (Chaetura pelagica) has sharp rigid tips to the tail feathers. It attaches its nest to the inner walls of chimneys, and is called also chimney swallow. The Australian swift (Chaetura caudacuta) also has sharp naked tips to the tail quills. The European Alpine swift (Cypselus melba) is whitish beneath, with a white band across the breast. The common Indian swift is Cypselus affinis. See also Palm swift, under Palm, and Tree swift, under Tree.
3.
(Zool.) Any one of several species of lizards, as the pine lizard.
... declarations of his love. When one thinks of ordinary occupations, how one envies him, flecking his oak-tree boll with sunlight, tinging with rose the cloud of the morning in which the lark is hid, making the sea's swift fringe of foaming lace outspread itself on the level sands, in which the pebbles gleam forever wet. The landscape painter's memory is inhabited by the fairest visions,—dawn burning on the splintered peaks that ... — Dreamthorp - A Book of Essays Written in the Country • Alexander Smith Read full book for free!
... minister, Louvois, whose power is said to have been maintained by his surpassing skill in collecting and spreading secret and swift intelligence, had in his pay various classes of unsuspected agents, dancing-masters, fencing-masters, language-masters, milliners, hairdressers and barbers—dentists, he would have added, had he lived to ... — Helen • Maria Edgeworth Read full book for free!
... hesitatingly along an untried path, with States so little bound together by rapid means of communication as to be hardly known to one another, and with historic traditions extending over very few years; now intercourse between the States is swift and intimate; the experience of centuries has been crowded into a few generations, and has created an intense, indestructible nationality. Then our jurisdiction did not reach beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the territory ... — State of the Union Addresses of Andrew Johnson • Andrew Johnson Read full book for free!
... turned and began to make her way as quickly as she could through the thickening crowd. Finding this difficult, before Peter could stop her, for she was very swift in her movements, Margaret bore to the right, entering the space immediately in front of the banqueting-hall where the grooms with horses and soldiers were assembled awaiting their lords, for here there was more room to walk. For a few moments Peter and Betty were unable ... — Fair Margaret • H. Rider Haggard Read full book for free!
... The swift brown stream carried us at full speed. "Captain Merrick" pointed out sundry short cuts, but my brain now refused to admit as truth a word coming from a Mpongwe. We passed some bateaux pecheurs, saw sundry shoals of fish furrowing the water, and after two hours we were bumping on the rocks ... — Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1 • Richard F. Burton Read full book for free!
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