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swin·dle

(swĭndl)

v. swin·dled, swin·dling, swin·dles

v.tr.

1. To cheat or defraud of money or property.

2. To obtain by fraudulent means: swindled money from the company.

v.intr.

To practice fraud as a means of obtaining money or property.

The act or an instance of swindling.

[Back-formation from swindler, one who swindles, from German Schwindler, giddy person, cheat, from schwindeln, to be dizzy, swindle, from Middle High German, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of swintan, to disappear.]

swindler n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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