- swank
- 1809, "to strut" (swanky, n., "attractive young fellow" is recorded from 1508), perhaps related to M.H.G. swanken "to sway, totter," and O.H.G. swingan "to swing." Said to have been a Midlands and southwestern England dialectal word. The noun meaning "ostentatious behavior" is recorded from 1854; adj. sense of "stylish, classy, posh" is from 1913. Swanky is attested from 1842.