verb

schwingen

swing

Sich hin und her bewegen, meist in einer gleichmäßigen Bewegung.

Definition & meaning

The verb schwingen has several related meanings depending on the context:

To oscillate or vibrate: It refers to a rhythmic back-and-forth movement around a central point, such as a pendulum or a guitar string. In physics, this describes periodic motion or waves.
To swing or brandish: It means to move an object through the air in a wide, sweeping motion. For example, one might brandish a sword or wave a flag.
To resonate: Figuratively, it describes a sound, a voice, or an atmosphere that carries a certain tone or emotion.
To vault or leap (reflexive): When used as sich schwingen, it describes the action of moving oneself quickly and elegantly onto or over something, such as jumping onto a horse or a bicycle.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar:

Verb Type: It is a strong (irregular) verb.
Principal Parts: schwingen (present), schwang (past), hat/ist geschwungen (perfect).
Auxiliary Verb: It uses haben when used transitively (swinging an object) and sein when used reflexively or to describe a movement to a specific place.

Word origin: The word stems from the Middle High German swingen and the Old High German swingan. It is linguistically related to the English verb "to swing." The original meaning was associated with hurling, tossing, or beating (as in wings beating).