swank1

[swangk] /swæŋk/
noun
1.
dashing smartness, as in dress or appearance; style.
2.
a swagger.
adjective, swanker, swankest.
3.
stylish or elegant.
4.
pretentiously stylish.
verb (used without object)
5.
to swagger in behavior; show off.
Origin
1800-10; compare Scots swank lively, perhaps ultimately representing back formation from Old English swancor lithe; akin to Middle Dutch swanc supple, Middle High German swanken to sway

swank2

[swangk] /swæŋk/
verb
1.
a simple past tense of swink.

swink

[swingk] /swɪŋk/
verb (used without object), swank or swonk, swonken, swinking, noun
1.
labor; toil.
Origin
before 900; Middle English swinken, Old English swincan; akin to swing1
Related forms
swinker, noun
British Dictionary definitions for swank

swank

/swæŋk/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to show off or swagger
noun
2.
(Brit) Also called swankpot. a swaggering or conceited person
3.
(mainly US) elegance or style, esp of a showy kind
4.
swagger; ostentation
adjective
5.
another word (esp US) for swanky
Word Origin
C19: perhaps from Middle High German swanken to sway; see swag

swink

/swɪŋk/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to toil or drudge
noun
2.
toil or drudgery
Derived Forms
swinker, noun
Word Origin
Old English swinc, from swincan
Word Origin and History for swank

1809, "to strut" (swanky, n., "attractive young fellow" is recorded from 1508), perhaps related to Middle High German swanken "to sway, totter," and Old High German swingan "to swing." Said to have been a Midlands and southwestern England dialectal word. The noun meaning "ostentatious behavior" is recorded from 1854; adjective sense of "stylish, classy, posh" is from 1913.

Slang definitions & phrases for swank

swank

adjective

(also swanky) Elegant; stylish; posh, ritzy: Carroll's swank office (1913+)

noun

: the swank of his riding clothes (1920s+)

verb

To behave ostentatiously; strut: I saw her swanking up the avenue in furs (1809+)

[origin unknown; perhaps fr Middle English swanken, ''to sway,'' cognate with German schwenken, ''to flourish'']