Swan if a mate dies, the remaining swan will take up with another. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. The English word 'swan', akin to the German "Schwan", Dutch "zwaan" and Swedish "svan", is derived from Indo-European root "*swen" (to sound, to sing). Young swans are known as "swanlings" or as "cygnets"; the latter derives via Old French "cigne" or "cisne" (diminutive suffix -"et" "little") from the Latin word "", a variant form of "cycnus" "swan", itself from the Greek "kýknos", a word of the same meaning. An adult male is a "cob", from Middle
Susan Swan 2007 to concentrate on her writing. She was Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada for 2007–2008. Swan grew up in Midland, Ontario, and has a younger brother John. Swan was a bookworm as a child and wrote stories to entertain herself and her friends. An early short story by Swan was deemed plagiarism by her Grade Seven teacher who said the writing was too good to have been written by a young girl. Swan's parents were Jane Cowan of Sarnia, Ontario, and Dr. Churchill Swan, a Midland G.P. Swan attended Midland Public School and as a teenager, she worked