swan song
noun
Did you know?
Swans don't sing. They whistle or trumpet, or in the case of the swan most common in ponds, the mute swan, they only hiss and snort. But according to ancient legend, the swan does sing one beautiful song in its life-just before it dies. References in English to the dying swan's lovely singing go back as far as Chaucer, but the term swan song itself didn't appear in the language until the 1830s, when Thomas Carlyle used it in Sartor Resartus. Carlyle probably based his "swan song" on the German version of the term, which is Schwanengesang or Schwanenlied.
Examples of swan song in a Sentence
Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 7 May 2025
Better yet, each of their seven studio albums was better than the previous one, culminating with 1992’s Dynamo — seeped in shoegaze guitars — and 1995’s psychedelic magnum opus Sueño Stereo, a dreamlike, hazy swan song for the ages.
—Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2025
That would make the gorgeous speed machine the sports car’s swan song.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Apr. 2025
Massive change is obviously facing Paramount, and Thursday’s presentation is almost certain to mark Brian Robbins’ swan song as Paramount Global co-CEO and CEO of Paramount Pictures.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swan song
Cite this Entry
“Swan song.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan%20song. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share