• (British) IPA: /sweɪn/

swain (plural swains)

1. (obsolete) A young man or boy in service; a servant.
2. (obsolete) A knight's servant; an attendant.
3. (archaic) A country labourer; a countryman, a rustic.
4. (poetic) A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting.
   • a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Chanson Francoise. Translated”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, volume I, Second edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, page 687:

     Why thus from the Plain does my Shepherdess rove
     Forsaking Her Swain and neglecting his love?

   • 2016 Zack Woods (as Donald "Jared" Dunn), "Founder Friendly", Silicon Valley episode 19

     You're the belle of the ball, and these are all your swains, hoping for a glimpse of ankle.

• Spanish: zagal

1. Surname