Added 9 October 2026
swindle
/ˈswɪndəl/ noun
In Latin: fraudō Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about swindle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme.
that book is a fraud
verb
-
Deprive of by deceit.
He swindled me out of my inheritance
Origin
Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”). See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)