See Also: Swiss(dictionary)
SWISS(tourism)
Swiss Exchange(money)
Swiss chard(dictionary)
Swiss doctor(health)
Swiss 1, adjective(dictionary)
Swiss 2, noun(dictionary)
Swiss Guard, the(dictionary)
Swiss roll(dictionary)
Swiss steak(dictionary)

Swiss (iou)



Swiss noun & adjective. E16.
[French Suisse from Middle High German Swiz Switzerland (German Schweiz). Cf. SWITZER.]
A. noun. Pl. same, -es.
A native or inhabitant of Switzerland, a country in central Europe. E16.
A dialect of German, French, or Italian used in Switzerland. rare. M19.
= Swiss muslin below. L19.
A tournament played according to the Swiss system (see sense B.2 below). M20.
b. adjective.
Of, pertaining to, associated with, or characteristic of the Swiss or Switzerland. M16.
Designating a system of organizing (esp. bridge or chess) tournaments, in which after the first round each player or team is matched against an opponent with a similar score, but no two opponents may meet more than once. M20.
Special collocations & comb.: Swiss Army knife a penknife incorporating several blades and other tools such as scissors and screwdrivers. Swiss bank a bank in Switzerland at which clients' anonymity and security are preserved by a system of numbered accounts. Swiss banker: who works in a Swiss bank. Swiss CHARD. Swiss cheese noun & adjectival phr. (a) noun phr. cheese from Switzerland, freq. characterized by large holes; (b) adjectival phr. characteristic of Swiss cheese, characterized by large holes or spaces; Swiss cheese plant, an evergreen Central American climbing plant, Monstera deliciosa, of the arum family, grown as a house-plant for its large ovate perforated leaves. Swiss cottage a chalet. Swiss cream a type of trifle. Swiss darning a technique in which coloured stitches are sewn on to knitted garments to make patterns or motifs that seem to have been knitted. Swiss file a small fine-cut file. Swiss-German adjective & noun (a) adjective of or pertaining to Schweizerdeutsch or the part of Switzerland where this is spoken; (b) noun a native or inhabitant of the part of Switzerland where Schweizerdeutsch is spoken (cf. German-Swiss s.v. GERMAN noun1 & adjective1). Swiss guard sing. & in pl. Swiss mercenaries employed as a special guard, formerly by sovereigns of France etc., now only at the Vatican. Swiss muslin a thin crisp plain-weave muslin, freq. ornamented with dots or figures. Swiss roll a cylindrical cake with a spiral cross-section made from a flat piece of sponge cake spread with jam etc. and rolled up. Swiss steak N. Amer. a dish of (usu. less tender) steak that has been floured, pounded, and cooked by braising with vegetables; a cut of meat suitable for cooking in this way. Swiss stone pine: see stone pine s.v. STONE noun.
Swisser noun a Swiss person M16-M18.
Swissess noun (rare) a Swiss woman or girl L18.