Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SWAIN, n. [Sax. swein, swan, a boy, a youth, a servant, a herdsman; Sw. sven, a boy; Dan. svend; Ice. svein.]

1. A young man. – Spenser.
2. A country servant employed in husbandry. – Shak.
3. A pastoral youth. Blest swains! whose nymphs in every grace excel. – Pope. [It is used chiefly in this sense, and in poetry.]