You might have heard a pirate called a “swashbuckler” — the “swash” part of that word means “to flamboyantly swagger or strut.” Just picture Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride”: “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Use “swash” as either a noun or a verb, and it can refer to the aforementioned swagger or the rushing motion and sound of water. However, the etymology of “swash” can’t be traced back to a particular language, because it’s imitative. That means the word imitates a particular sound, such as the swash of moving water back and forth or the swash of a sword through the air.