Is There a Word Swell?

To swell is to expand or grow larger. ... In the 1930s, swell became a popular slang term meaning great or excellent. But it also can describe a wealthy, elegant person, like a group of swells at a fancy restaurant.

Is swell an old word?

Our English word “swell” is, of course, much older, first appearing in Old English, from Germanic roots, as the verb “swellan,” meaning “to grow or make larger.” (Fun fact: the past participle of “swellan” in Old English was “swollen,” which we still use as the past participle of “swell,” as in “swollen ankles.”) In ...

Is it swollen or swelled?

Word forms: swells, swelling, swelled, swollenlanguage note: The forms swelled and swollen are both used as the past participle. If the amount or size of something swells or if something swells it, it becomes larger than it was before. The human population swelled, at least temporarily, as migrants moved south.