Swum
/swʌm/noun
Past participle of swim, meaning having moved through water by using the body.
Did you know?Swum is an ancient strong-verb form descended from Proto-Indo-European *s(w)eibʰ-*, a root tied to moving or gliding, preserved through Germanic sound changes into English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*s(w)eibʰ-
“to move, glide, or swing”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*swimmaną
“to swim; move through water”
Old English
OE
swimman
“to swim”
Middle English
ME
swimmen
“to swim”
Modern English
English
swum
“past participle of swim”