swan's bath

English

Etymology

From swan and bath. Periphrase used in Norse saga.

Noun

swan's bath

1. (poetic) The sea, or any large body of open water.
   • 1866, Charles Kingsley, Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 42:

     So hey for the merry greenwood, and the long ships, and the swan’s bath, and all the rest of it.

   • 1891, H. Rider Haggard, Eric Brighteyes, London: Longmans, Green & Company, page 42:

     Swift and sure across the Swan’s Bath / Sped Sea-stag on Raven’s track