When I use the word swell, I mean “excellent” as an adverb. This term originated from an old adjective that meant “stylish” back in 1810. The use of “swell” as a single positive expression emerged in 1930s American slang. The adjective derived from a noun that referred to a “stylish person”, which came from the verb “enlarge” because stylish individuals were believed to have swollen egos. The verb itself can be traced back to Middle English swellen and Old English swellan, ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic word swellana, which is believed to have originated from an unknown Proto-Indo-European root. The figurative use of “swell” began in the late 1300s, such as “to swell with pride” or “swell with anger”, and the usage of the word has been decreasing since a swell in the eighteenth century.
