noun
- any of a family (Hirundinidae) of small, swift-flying, insect-eating passerine birds with long, pointed wings and a forked tail, including the barn swallow and purple martin: most species migrate, often between widely separated summer and winter homes
- any of various birds resembling swallows, as certain swifts
Origin:
ME swalwe < OE swealwe, akin to Ger schwalbe, ON svala, swallow, & prob. Russ solovyej, Czech slavík, nightingale