swankie
English
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
Compare German schwank (“flexible, pliant”).
Noun
swankie (plural swankies)
- (Scotland) An active and clever young fellow.
- 1820 March, [Walter Scott], The Monastery. A Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Co., and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC:
- There is a young swankie here who shoots venison well.
References
- “swankie”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Etymology 2
Noun
swankie (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Poor thin beer or any sloppy drink, even sweetened water and vinegar.