sward UK /swɔːd/US /swɔɹd/noun 5verb 2forms 3 noun5 •Earth which grass has grown into the upper layer of; greensward, sod, turf; (countable) a portion of such earth.[F]or garden it was called, though consisting but of plots of sward, bordered by fruit trees, and white rose trees not yet in blossom, […] — 1843 •An expanse of land covered in grass; a lawn or meadow.[O]f a sudden the trees began to thin and the sward to spread out onto a broad, green lawn, where five cows lay in the sunshine and droves of black swine wandered unchecked. — 1891 •(Philippines) A homosexual man. •(dialect) The rind of bacon or pork; also, the outer covering or skin of something. •(no longer used) The upper layer of the ground, especially when vegetation is growing on it.The roots of the Apple-tree, Olive, and Cypresse, lie very ebbe, and creepe hard under the sourd of the ground. — 1601 verb2 •To cover (ground, etc.) with sward. •Of ground, etc.: to be covered with sward; to develop a covering of sward.[Land...] will not sward again […] — 1644 formsswarded · swarding · swards
