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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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swive
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2016/06/28 - 4:24am

The Passionate Philologist to his Love

         

Can you conceive a problem more absurd?

Can you imagine just how much I'm stuck? 

In all the English language, crammed with words,

The only verb for what I crave sounds just like yuck.

Oh yes, of course, I know, there’s copulate,

But that’s a verb intransitive, my dear,

Which means I can’t--although my need is great--

Do that to you grammatically, I fear.

So from the lexicon of  Chaucer’s time

I pray you let me ardently revive

A verb whose simple yet seductive chime

Sounds just the note I need: then let us . . .  swive!

         If  I swive you, and transitively, see?

Then just as surely, you’ll be swiving me. 

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2016/06/28 - 6:34pm

Nice English poem. (You are Englishman aren't you?).  I am afraid this word makes me think too much of    swiftly swipe 'n swat.

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2016/06/28 - 10:53pm

Welcome to the forum jim. I enjoyed your sonnet. Nicely done sir. I hadn't heard of the verb swive (which spellcheck flags), so checked it out at the Online Etymology Dictionary and found this. Interesting history of the term. Not sure I'll be using it.  🙂  But always good to learn a new word.

If you don't require a single word, I think making love does nicely as an alternative non-indecent verbal phrase. I think the transitive form would be make/made love to, but that's 3 words. I cannot think of a single word equivalent.

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