Obs. [Derived from or forming the radical of ASWASH adv. = aslant. Cf. SWASH a.2] a. Turning, etc., A figure or ornament the lines or moldings of which lie obliquely to the axis of the work. b. Printing. The flourished extension characteristic of swash letters (see SWASH a.2 2).
1680. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., xiv. 241. You set it to that Slope you intend the Swash on your Work shall have. Ibid., Explan. Terms LL 2 b, Swash. A Swash is a Figure whose Circumference is not Round, but Oval; and whose Moldings lye not at Right Angles, but Oblique to the Axis of the Work. Ibid. (1683), Printing, xiii. ¶ 4 Q, whose Swashes come below the Foot-Line…, ought to have the … Sholder of tha’ Swash Sculped down straight.
