Obs. Forms: 3 swem, 5 swayme, sweme, sweem, sqweme, 6 sweame, 7 swaim, sweam. [f. SWEAM v. (Cf. SWIME.)
Sense 2 may have been borrowed from ON. svimi, svimr giddiness, swooning, or the ON. word itself may have been actually taken over, ĭ becoming ē as in native words.]
1. Grief, affliction. To think sweam (impers. with dat.): to be grievous to. To be sweam: to be a pity. So for sweam!
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 391. Of paradis hem ðinkeð swem, Of iwel and dead hem stondeð greim. Ibid., 1961. He missed Ioseph and ðhogte swem.
c. 1430. Lydg., Min. Poems (Percy Soc.), 38. His hert began to melt, For veray sweme of this swemeful tale.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 482/2. Sweem, of mornynge, tristicia, molestia, meror.
c. 1450. Cov. Myst., xi. 127. That mannys sowle it xulde perysche it wore sweme.
c. 1460. Metham, Wks. (1916), 43. Ful grete sqweme for yowre absens I schal haue. Ibid., 62. Alas, for sqweme!
c. 1491. Chast. Goddes Chyld., 92. The olde enmye the deuyl hath fered me by swemes.
a. 1500[?]. Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.), xi. 8. And nowe that fitt may I not flee, thinke me never so swem.
2. A sudden fit of sickness or fainting; a swoon.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 3895. He swat neuer for þat swynke, ne in swayme felle.
c. 1415. Crowned King, 29. Swythe y swyed in a sweem, þat y swet after.
a. 1440. Sir Degrev., 1211 (Camb. MS.). Loke at þu come at þt tyme Oþer swowne shal I sweme Þe lady shall I se [Thornton MS. And ane of us salle ly in swyme].
1587. Mirr. Mag., King Jago, Lenuoy i. A warning this may be, Against the slothfull sweames of sluggardye. Ibid., Vitellius, ii. By blindnesse blunt, a sottishe sweame hee feeles: With ioyes bereft, when death is hard at heeles.
1677. Holyoke, Dict., A sweam or swaim, subita ægrotatio.
Hence † Sweamful (5 swem-, sqwem-, swymful) a., grievous, distressing; † Sweamfully adv.; † Sweamly (swemly) a., distressful.
a. 1400. Leg. Rood (1871), 135. [He] swelteþ heerin a swemly swouh.
c. 1420. ? Lydg., Assembly of Gods, 1223. Then seyde Frewyll & swemfully spake.
c. 1430. [see SWEAM sb. 1].
c. 1460. Metham, Wks. (1916), 43. At her sqwemfful departyng.
c. 1460. Play Sacram., 807. Now alle my pepulle wt me ye dresse ffor to goe see that swymfulle syght.
1469. Paston Lett., Suppl. 128. It is gret pety to here the swemefull and petowse compleyntis of the pore tenauntis.
