Crossword Genius

Historian, a big swinger (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

gibbon

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'historian' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a big swinger' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
an anagram of 'big' is 'gib' which is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gibbon that I've seen before include "Large tailless ape" , "A historian; SE Asian forest creature" , "Animal" , "Ape -- author of the 14 15 of the 5 7" , "author of Decline and Fall, etc" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.