swan song
noun
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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
Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2025
Chiuri is said to be on friendly terms with Venturini Fendi, who attended Chiuri’s swan song show in May parading Dior’s cruise 2026 collection.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025
And this swan song was a memorable one.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025
After two late-’80s albums peaked in the teens, all of its half-dozen studios sets from 1991’s Roll the Bones through 2012 swan song Clockwork Angels hit the top 10.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Swan song.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan%20song. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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