swarm means A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
swarm is pronounced /swɔɹm/.
Why “swarm” is a great word
A dense, moving mass of insects, people, or things, or the act of moving or gathering in such a mass. From Middle English swarm, from Old English swearm ('swarm, multitude'), from Proto-West Germanic *swarm, from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz ('swarm, dizziness'), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- ('to buzz, hum'); the verb derives from the noun. Unlike 'flock,' which suggests a cohesive, pastoral order of birds or sheep, or 'crowd,' which implies a stationary gathering, a swarm is dense, agitated, and alive with collective purpose. It is the sudden blackening of a summer sky as bees abandon their hive, the hungry press of bodies surging toward a dropped coin, and the silent, synchronous turn of a million starlings wheeling at dusk—the individual dissolved into something hungrier, louder, and more inevitable than any single will could summon or control.
Etymology
From Middle English swarm, from Old English swearm (“swarm, multitude”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarm, from Proto-Germanic *swarmaz (“swarm, dizziness”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to buzz, hum”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Swoorm (“swarm”), Dutch zwerm, German Schwarm, Danish sværm, Swedish svärm, Icelandic svarmur (“tumult, swarm”), Latin susurrus (“whispering, humming”), Lithuanian surma (“a pipe”), Russian свире́ль (svirélʹ, “a pipe, reed”). The verb is from Middle English swarmen, swermen, from Old English swirman (“to swarm”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarmijan, from Proto-Germanic *swarmijaną (“to swarm”), from the noun. Cognate with Scots swairm, swerm (“to swarm”), Dutch zwermen, German schwärmen, Danish sværme, Swedish svärma.
noun
- A large number of insects, especially when in motion or (for bees) migrating to a new colony.
- A mass of people, animals or things in motion or turmoil.e.g.“a swarm of meteorites”
- A group of nodes sharing the same torrent in a BitTorrent network.
- A number of small earthquakes (or other seismic events) occurring, with no clear cause, in a specific area within a relatively short space of time.e.g.“Earthquakes were another concern, particularly after swarms were felt in Oklahoma.” — 2020, Daniel Yergin, The New Map, Penguin, published 2021, page 28:
verb
- To move as a swarm.
- To teem, or be overrun with insects, people, etc.e.g.“Every place swarming with soldiers.” — 1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Anc
- To fill a place as a swarm.
- To overwhelm as by an opposing army.
- To climb by gripping with arms and legs alternately.e.g.“At the top was placed a piece of money, as a prize for those who could swarm up and seize it.” — 1784, William Coxe, Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark:
- To breed multitudes.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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